skolnick@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
When running for mayor, John A. McNally said it was vital to overhaul and improve the city’s demolition and code-enforcement practices to make them more efficient.
McNally, mayor since Jan. 1, is starting to implement changes.
However, as other mayors have found, the lack of money needed to resolve these problems is a challenge.
One issue being resolved is changing the “unwieldy and inaccurate” online system that monitored the steps taken to demolish or rehabilitate structures, McNally said. Only 2 years old, that system, taken offline a few months ago, listed some houses that already were demolished as still standing, and a few houses still standing as razed.
“It didn’t communicate anything,” he said. “We’re running tests and will be back online by Sept. 1. It will be easier to navigate and be timely. It will be easier for the public to monitor what is happening.”
Also, code-enforcement staff will receive iPads and by Sept. 1, the information they obtain during inspections will be available on the city’s website, cityofyoungstownoh.org, and to city officials, said Rick Deak, the city’s chief information officer.
The city is in the process of combining its property-code enforcement, zoning-code enforcement, city land bank, litter control and demolition into one unit to focus on decreasing blight.
McNally also selected Abigail Brubaker as the city’s code official and interim building and housing specialist — the point-person on demolition and code enforcement.
Other issues are stopping the practice of “scattershot” demolition in which one or two houses on a street or a neighborhood are taken down rather than several, and focusing on “tipping-point neighborhoods,” areas with strengths and weaknesses that with a focus can be stabilized, McNally said.
“We’re taking steps to improve our housing and demolition system,” McNally said.
This isn’t new. BCT Partners of New Brunswick, N.J., a firm that works with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, issued a report in November 2013 about Youngstown’s demolition and blight removal and made recommendations, including a focus on stabilizing healthier neighborhoods, cross-training staff and revising its organizational structure for demolition and code enforcement.
As changes are made, not many structures have been demolished this year compared with previous years.
In 2013, 522 houses were razed — 198 by contractors hired by the city, 185 by street department workers and 139 by private owners.
In 2012, 440 houses were demolished — 137 by contractors, 169 by the street department and 134 by private owners.
So far this year, 143 structures have come down — 130 vacant houses and 13 commercial buildings. The street department razed 90 houses with the rest done by private owners. The street department demolitions were of houses heavily damaged by fire or with serious safety violations, McNally said.
The city likely will come close to doubling that amount this year as well as use about $440,000 left in its demolition budget to hire private contractors to demolish dilapidated houses. That amount likely would pay for 50 to 70 demolitions.
That would total about 300 houses for 2014.
The city had an additional $350,000 in its demolition budget this year but was forced to use it to pay contractors who did work last year taking down houses but weren’t paid.
The city received state and federal funding in 2012 and 2013 for demolition but none this year.
“We’ll have houses down, but we need to implement a system before doing more demos,” McNally said.
The city is “strategically planning” its demolition locations, Brubaker said. “We’re identifying neighborhoods and streets to make the biggest impact.”
The city is first focusing on Powerstown on the southwest side, Crandall on the North Side and the Garden District on the West Side, McNally said.
There are about 4,000 vacant houses in Youngstown.
Residents who’ve expressed concern over the years about demolition and code enforcement say they see positive signs from McNally and his administration about the issues.
“These are massive issues in the city,” said Mary Krupa, who lives in the Powerstown neighborhood. “He has plans to improve the quality of life in the city, focusing on demolition and code enforcement, and that’s good. I’m glad they’re changing the website. It was outdated.”
Patricia Dougan, who lives in Brownlee Woods on the South Side, said McNally “has some great ideas putting departments together and on the same page. He’s making the city more efficient. He’s going in the right direction.”
Nick Durse, who also lives in Powerstown, said “Strong code enforcement really makes a difference. The administration has been very supportive of our cause. Our voices have been heard. I feel they’re doing a very good job. Since the mayor took office, his administration is picking things up quickly and doing the best they can.”
During his campaign last year for mayor, McNally called for “some form of civil disobedience [to] take down entire blocks rather than one on a street in need of eight.” He was referencing restrictions from federal agencies, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency’s law on needing to conduct asbestos tests on every structure to be demolished and also limits the number of houses on a street that can be demolished.
McNally isn’t taking such a strong stance now, saying the regulations “hamper us in cleaning up these abandoned properties, but we will be aggressive when we can.”
It was announced earlier this year that the Mahoning County Land Bank would receive $4.27 million to demolish vacant homes primarily in Youngstown “tipping-point neighborhoods.”
Because the land bank has to obtain titles for each property, it should take about six to eight months for that work to get going, McNally said.