The Economic Action Group met once a month (2013-2015) to discuss ongoing projects and new ideas.
Meeting 31
December 16, 2016
Meeting 30
November 2, 2016
SPEAKERS
Sara Wenger, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments
Curtis Baker, Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study
Dominic Marchionda, YSU’s Regional Economic Development Initiative
AGENDA
Download here
PRESENTATIONS & MEDIA
Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study
Coordination of Economic Development Planning
Meeting 29
July 19, 2016
SPEAKERS
David Jurca of Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative
PRESENTATIONS
Coldscapes PDF
Coldscapes Presentation
Meeting 28
June 28, 2016
SPEAKERS
Courtney Boyle of MS Consultants
Kristen Zeiber of Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative
AGENDA
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PRESENTATIONS & MEDIA
Rain Garden Installation
Ideas and Opportunities from the 2015 Youngstown Community Design Charrette
Quilian Riano City of You Podcast
May 24, 2016
SPEAKERS
Andrew Shepard-Smith and Gary Clark of YSU’s Office of Research Services
Wilma K. Levengood and Madeline Grimes
PRESENTATIONS
Research Integrity: Grant Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Perceptions About the Arts in the Mahoning Valley
MEETING 26 April 19, 2016
SPEAKERS
Afif Ghannoum
Afif is the President of ARMS Pharmaceutical and Oasis Consumer Healthcare. A former
“BigLaw” associate, Afif oversaw the investment process and investor relations for over $8
million in investments as president of a Phase II drug development company. He is the creator
of the “Napkin to Shelf” strategy and the author of “The Napkin to Shelf Blueprint: A Step-by-
Step Guide to ACTUALLY Turning Ideas into Amazing Consumer Products”. Afif’s presentation
will focus on product delivery, and how to transform an idea into something tangible and
valuable. Afif will also take us through a deep dive on the realities and opportunities for
successful fundraising in weaker market cities.
In the spirit of our middle name, Action, we are excited to “youngstownize” Afif’s concepts in
order to deliver our own initiatives and action steps into tangible gains for our community.
Sara Wenger
AGENDA
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PRESENTATIONS
Napkin to Shelf, “How to Turn an Idea into a Consumer Product”
MEETING 25 March 22, 2016
SPEAKERS
Dennis Schiraldi
AGENDA
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PRESENTATIONS
State of Social Media
Downtown Vision and Action Plan Yearly Report
Action Team Updates
DOWNLOADS
Sub. H.B. 233 Floor Speech
HB 233 Analysis
MEETING 24February 24, 2016
SPEAKERS
Ellie Platt, Phil Kidd, and Daniel Rauschenbach
AGENDA
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PRESENTATIONS
Parking Overview
MEETING 23 January 19, 2016
SPEAKERS
Law Department Monitor Assistant/Coordinator
Mark D’Apolito of the City of Youngstown
AGENDA
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PRESENTATIONS
Downtown Parking Presentation
MEETING 22
November 17, 2015
SPEAKERS
Michael Hripko of YSU’s Regional Economic Development Initiative, Barb Ewing, Dione
Alexander, Jeanine Colozza, and Don Pattison of Village Capital Corporation, and Dominic
C. Marchionda of YSU’s Regional Economic Development Initiative
SUMMARY
Youngstown State University, VP for Research, Michael Hripko led off the meeting introducing
himself and explaining the role that the YSU Regional Economic Development Initiative would
have in future EAG operations. Potential actions include community planning and economic
development technical assistance, GIS mapping, strategic and long range planning, and action
and implementation planning.
Barb Ewing of the YBI introduced Village Capital Corporation from Cleveland, as the organization assisted YBI in the Vindicator Building Project.
Speakers from Village Capital Corporation (VCC) were Dione Alexander, Jeanine Colozza, and Don Pattison. VCC is a subsidiary of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress that provides real estate financing to catalytic community projects. They discussed projects in both Cleveland and the Mahoning Valley, and the potential role their organization could play in future development projects.
Dominic C. Marchionda provided a project summary on the Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative and a video illustrating the student’s work was shown.
PRESENTATIONS
Village Capital Corporation
MEETING 21
October 23, 2015
SPEAKERS
Kent State Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative Students and Faculty, Bob McGovern and
Ellie Platt of the Mahoning Valley Young Professionals
SUMMARY
The October Economic Action Group meeting was led off by the Kent State Cleveland Urban
Design Collaborative. The CUDC students outlined their plan of action for the Urban Design
Charrette and acquired stakeholder feedback through all attendees offering their own unique
visions.
Next was Bob McGovern and Ellie Platt presenting on behalf of the Mahoning Valley Young Professionals. They discussed MVYP’s recent survey to local young professionals and how the data would be used in the future.
MEETING 20
September 15, 2015
SPEAKERS
Nick Chretien of YSUscape, Lavea Brachman of Greater Ohio Policy Center, Dominic
Marchionda of YSU’s Regional Economic Development Initiative
SUMMARY
The 20th Economic Action Group meeting was hosted at the Youngstown Business Incubator
on September 15th.
Nick Chretien updating the group about the status of the Certified Local Government (CLG) legislation. He also discussed the progress that YSUscape has made in the Wick Park neighborhood and area adjacent to Youngstown State’s campus. YSUscape’s next workday is scheduled for the morning of October 31st.
Next was Lavea Brachman of the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) from Columbus. GOPC is a non-partisan, non-profit that champions revitalization and sustainable redevelopment in Ohio through policy and practice. Her presentation focused on an updated presentation regarding GOPC’s assessment on a potential Youngstown Center City Organization.
Closing the meeting was Dominic Marchionda summarizing the partnership between the YSU
Regional Economic Development Initiative and Kent State University Cleveland Urban Design
Collaborative and Kent State University College of Architecture and Urban Design.
MEETING 19
August 21, 2015
SPEAKERS
Nick Chretien of YSUscape, Jillian Smith of the Youngstown Business Incubator, Aaron
Young, Executive Director of Mill Creek MetroParks
SUMMARY
Economic Action Group Meeting #19 took place at the Youngstown Business Incubator on
August 21.
Michael McGiffin led the meeting with an update regarding the Wayfinding/Signage Plan.
Studio Graphique is currently refining their design mockups that were connected during their
Dig Down Phase.
Next was Nick Chretien presenting an update regarding the Youngstown State University
Student Organization, YSUscape. Nick discussed YSUscape’s past and future workdays in the
areas directly adjacent to YSU’s campus and how it can positively affect the University.
Following was Jillian Smith, a Policy Intern at the Youngstown Business Incubator and member
of the Mahoning Valley Young Professionals. Jillian detailed MVYP’s desire to bring in Vangard’s
Next City Conference to Youngstown in Spring of 2017.
Closing out the meeting was the Executive Director of Mill Creek MetroParks, Aaron Young,
who provided the Administrative Report. Young discussed the MetroParks’ Strategic Plan,
Action Plan, and Upcoming County Levy.
MEETING 18
SPEAKERS
Rachel McCartney, Dr. Ronald Chordas, and Nick Chretien of Youngstown State
University’s Regional Economic Development Initiative, RJ Thompson of Youngstown Design
Works
SUMMARY
At the July EAG Meeting, the Youngstown State University Regional Economic Development
Initiative highlighted their strategies and findings within the plan for economic development in
Youngstown.
First was Dr. Ron Chordas who presented an overview of the Economic Development Strategic
Plan as a whole. Next was Nick Chretien, who informed the group about Opportunity Sites for
potential industrial and commercial businesses within Youngstown.
The last presentation came digitally from RJ Thompson, who shared his ‘City of YOU’
Marketing campaign vision.
MEETING 17 June 16, 2015 SPEAKERS
Don Stiker and Scott Wolovich of Pittsburgh’s New Sun Rising, Sharon Letson and Phil
Kidd of Youngstown Cityscape, Chris Faircloth of Akron’s Economic Community Development
Institute
SUMMARY
Guest speakers from Pittsburgh and Akron joined the Economic Action Group this month. Dan
Stiker and Scott Wolovich spoke to the group on behalf of New Sun Rising out of Pittsburgh.
New Sun Rising deals with the incubation of creative ideas in select communities in Pittsburgh,
and presented how they operate their MODE Impact Incubator.
Next was Phil Kidd and Sharon Letson of Youngstown CityScape speaking about the Heritage
Ohio workshop in Cleveland and recapping the 18th annual Planting Day that took place on
May 30th. Downtown Events Coordinator Michael McGiffin followed with a Wayfinding Signage
Plan update.
Closing out the meeting was Chris Faircloth from Akron’s Economic Community Development
Institute (ECDI). He spoke on the incentives his organization offered in financing various
economic development projects.
MEETING 16
May 26, 2015
SPEAKERS
Professor Emeritus Thomas Maraffa of Youngstown State University’s Geography Department
SUMMARY
May’s Economic Action Group meeting took place after a long Memorial Day Weekend and
brought together stakeholders to hear from Dr. Tom Maraffa and Abby Beniston.
Dr. Maraffa presented his Peer City Analysis which focused on the Central Business Districts of
15 peer cities, and how they compared to Youngstown.
Abigail Beniston from the City of Youngstown Department of Code Enforcement and Blight
Remediation informed the group of the City’s new code enforcement technology and how it
was being utilized to combat blight throughout Youngstown.
MEETING 15
April 21, 2015
SPEAKERS
Executive Director, Sharon Letson and Associate Director, Phil Kidd of Youngstown
CityScape, Vice President of Government Affairs and Media at the Youngstown Warren
Regional Chamber, Guy Coviello
SUMMARY
Downtown Events Coordinator Michael McGiffin gave an update regarding the Downtown
Youngstown Wayfinding Signage Plan. Sharon Letson and Phil Kidd of Youngstown
CityScape presented Youngstown CityScape’s future plans and Planting Day. Guy Coviello of
the Regional Chamber closed the meeting out with a presentation of the State of Ohio’s Capital
Budget and its effect on Mahoning County.
Check out coverage of the meeting from The Business Journal and the Vindicator
MEETING 14
March 17, 2015
SPEAKERS
Students from Holy Family, Sara Wenger of Eastgate Community College, Dominic C.
Marchionda of YSU’s Regional Economic Development Initiative
SUMMARY
Last months Economic Action Group featured students from Holy Family and the unveiling of
the Downtown Vision and Action Plan.
The meeting, which took place at the Youngstown Business Incubator, had students from Holy
Family present their Feeding Future Cities report. This vision for Youngstown’s future won
honors at the state competition.
Next, Sara Wenger and Dominic C. Marchionda, presented the Downtown Vision and Action
Plan. The plan is the first comprehensive plan for downtown and was formed over the course
of the past year with stakeholder input from around the community. The plan hopes to engage
the community and coordinate public, private, and nonprofit groups.
MEETING 13
January 20, 2015
SPEAKERS
Jenn Stofko of Youngstown Thermal, Will Tarter of OneCommunity in Cleveland, Michael
Wilkos of the Columbus Foundation
SUMMARY
The Economic Action Group assembled for Meeting #13 which took place on January 20th at
the Youngstown Business Incubator. The group had a full agenda featuring 3 different speakers
from around Ohio.
Leading the discussion was Jenn Stofko of Youngstown Thermal. She spoke of the potential
benefits to property owners and business owners if the city were to develop an Energy Master
Plan for the city.
Next was Will Tarter of OneCommunity from Cleveland. This presentation informed the EAG
about the benefits of having OneCommunity’s high-speed Fiber Optic network and how it
could be advantageous to the city in both business and economic development.
MEETING 12
December 11, 2014
SPEAKERS
Martin Hume of the City of Youngstown Law Department, Bill D’Avignon of the City of
Youngstown Planning Department, Dominic C. Marchionda of YSU’s Regional Economic
Development Initiative
SUMMARY
December’s Economic Action Group meeting consisted of updates from many of the group
members. The Wayfinding/Signage project officially selected Studio Graphique as the firm to
conduct the dig down phase, City Law Director Martin Hume informed the attendees that this
project would begin early this year.
Another often-discussed topic at these meetings is historic preservation, in support of future
preservation efforts, CLG legislation is being discussed for local implementation, which Bill
D’Avignon informed the group about.
To close out the meeting, Dominic C. Marchionda introduced the framework for the Downtown
Visioning Tactical Implementation Plan.
MEETING 11
November 18, 2014
SPEAKERS
Nick Chretien of YSUscape, Graphic & Interactive Students of YSU
SUMMARY
The November Economic Action Group meeting focused primarily on the diverse skillsets of
Youngstown State University students. Leading off the meeting with the first presentation were
Graphic and Interactive Design students, with one of their professors RJ Thompson. The
students designed the wayfinding app ‘Route’ which would allow for a more navigable
Downtown.
Next was YSUscape, represented by Nick Chretien, who presented the YSUscape Progress report. Within the progress report were activities that the group had participated in this year such as Neighborhood workdays, fundraisers and their mural project.
MEETING 10
October 21, 2014
SPEAKERS
Sharon Letson of Youngstown CityScape, Dante Zambrini of Eastern Gateway Community
College, Barb Ewing of the Youngstown Business Incubator, Dominic Gatta of the Gatta
Companies, Jimmy Sutman of Purple Cat, Dominic J. Marchionda of NYO Property Group,
& Tom Humphries representing the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement
Corporation (YCACIC).
SUMMARY
October brought in a very big month for the Downtown Youngstown Economic Action Group.
The Wayfinding/Signage plan for the city moved forward on October 15th when 3 firms gave
presentations at the Covelli Centre to stakeholders who were interested in seeing which firm
was the best fit for the needs of Youngstown; these firms being Corbin Design from Traverse
City, MI, KMA Design from Carnegie, PA, and Studio Graphique from Cleveland. The
Placemaking project team is expected to officially choose a firm within the next month and
then initiate the dig-down phase of the plan.
On the 21st, the whole Action Group convened at Meeting #10 to listen to Downtown Property
owners present their complete project inventories consisting of past, present, and future
development plans. The group consisted of owners who had very unique sets of properties
within Downtown.
MEETING 9
September 23, 2014
SPEAKERS
Sarah Lown of the Western Reserve Port Authority, Bill D’Avignon of the City of Youngstown
Planning Department, Sharon Woodberry of the City of Youngstown Economic
Development Department, Frank Rulli of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, & Mike
Conway of the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corporation
SUMMARY
Economic Development Financing Options was the key topic of Economic Action Group
Meeting #9. After updates updates on both the CLG and the Signage RFP the group learned of
the various financing options for the City of Youngstown.
Speaking on this financing tools first was Michael Conway who is the Executive Director of the
Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corporation. Next was T. Sharon Woodberry who is
the Director of Economic Development for the City of Youngstown. Senior Economic
Development Manager, Sarah Lown of the Western Reserve Port Authority speaker to talk
about financing options.
Frank Rulli’s presentation on Historic Preservation showcased a different financing tool, the
Historic Tax Credit. He talked of the impact that it has had on Youngstown’s city center within
the last 5 years and the upcoming projects that would not be possible without the tax credits.
To close the meeting there was a review of the project matrix.
MEETING 8
August 10, 2014
SPEAKERS
Representatives from City of Kent, Kent State University, and PARTA spoke to EAG regarding
the collaborative projects taking place in downtown Kent
SUMMARY
The Youngstown Economic Action Group met once again on August 19th at the Tyler History Center to learn more valuable lessons on how to improve the city. The keynote speakers at the meeting were members of the Kent/PARTA Planning team, of which briefed the group on the urban revitalization of Downtown Kent. The planners for Kent spoke on similarities between Youngstown and Kent, and showed how they overcame adversity to get great things done by collaborating with many different entities.
MEETING 7
July 29, 2014
SPEAKERS
Sara Wenger of East Gate Community College, Pam Lilak of the Downtown Wellness
Community
SUMMARY
July brought Pam Lilak of the Downtown Wellness Community and Sara Wenger of the
Eastgate Regional Council of Governments to speak to the Economic Action Group.
Pam introduced members of the EAG to the Downtown Wellness Community and their mission
statement which is to facilitate activities and to encourage behaviors which promote an
integrated approach to health and wellness.
Sara’s presentation presented a Comprehensive Parking Study of the Downtown Youngstown
city center. She illustrated that there is a severe underutilization of current surface parking
within the central business district and that parking strategies should be revisited.
June 13, 2014
SPEAKERS
Graphic Design Professor of YSU and Director of Youngstown Design Works, RJ Thompson
SUMMARY
YSU Graphic and Interactive Design Professor RJ Thompson spoke to the Economic Action
Group in June concerning the value of social design.
His presentation of social design showcased the mindfulness of a designer’s role and
responsibility in society; and the use of the design process to bring about social change. RJ’s
presentation was followed with a group discussion concerning marketing of certain assets
within Youngstown.
SPEAKERS
GMF Youngstown Bootcamp Panelist & President, Cleve Ricksecker of SID’s Public Services
Association
SUMMARY
Cleve Ricksecker of the SIDs Public Service Association out of Columbus spoke to the
Economic Action Group in May about the potential value a SID could serve to the city center of
Youngstown. Cleve paralleled entities in Columbus to those in Youngstown to show who would
be involved in the process of forming a SID.
Next, Marty Hume of the City Law Department announced that City Council authorized the use
of $26,000 for the Wayfinding/Signage project.
To wrap up the meeting, the group reviewed the Map visioning session that was discussed at
meeting #4
SPEAKERS
Environmental and Urban Design Expert, Cathy Fromet of Studio Graphique
SUMMARY
Meeting #4 consisted of the group first revisiting the 3 main topics put in place, placemaking,
way finding, and marketing. All were agreed upon as things that can be improved upon and
bettered. Mayor McNally gave an update on his signage improvement plan and told us of the
difficulties due to having a limited amount of people. Cathy Fromet from Studio Graphique was
the guest speaker. Cathy discussed the various signage and placemaking techniques. Some of the main points that Cathy made were discussing state/city requirements and getting the community involved. Funding sources were a topic of discussion as the private and public sector need to work together.
SPEAKERS
GMF Youngstown Bootcamp
SUMMARY
Meeting #3 immediately followed the GMF Youngstown conference and much of the meeting
was focused around the GMF event. A noted interest from the GMF conference would include
the Streetsense presentation. Dominic Marchionda went over other cities’ signage plan and if it
would be welcomed here. Another notable presentation was the historic transformation of
Wooster, in which revitalization took place in a small cluster. SIDs were an ongoing discussion
and the group thought they would be a good thing if they were brought here. Mayor McNally’s
signage plan recently began to show up downtown with the appearance of special ‘Downtown’
signs. It is a fact that these can still be improved upon. Groups were divided up into
placemaking, marketing, and visioning.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Ronald Chordas of YSU’s Regional Economic Development Initiative
SUMMARY
Meeting #2 continued to explore the Economic Development Grant opportunities. Dr. Chordas,
director for the Center of Urban and Regional Studies, gave his direct input on the topic and
lead a visioning session in which themes were explored with the group. Three themes
established themselves as the main concerns. These would be marketing, placemaking, and
development. Signage was determined to be the #1 issue to tackle downtown as most of it
was unorganized and not up to date with present day standards.
SPEAKERS
Economic Development Strategists
Chris Schmenk & Caleb Belle of Bricker & Ecker
SUMMARY
The first meeting was the start of this group’s collaboration. The first issue covered by the
group was the US EDA Planning Grant, which is a grant sponsored and administered by the
YSU Center for Urban and Regional Studies. This grant would help develop the city due to the
$250,000 that the grant would provide.
The next issue was the implementation of a strategic plan, which would have to be place
based and cater to the city’s needs. Signage was the first plan that the group wanted to tackle
and the subject was explored more. Design and funding were two of the primary concerns.
After discussing signage, the group listed all the downtown anchors and nodes of
development. SWOT analysis was critiqued.