(EXTENSIVE VIDEO COVERAGE) EXCITEMENT BUILDING IN CANTON? "THE YOUNG TURK" COUNCILMEN BOND WITH CITIZENS TO "TAKE CANTON BACK" FROM THE THUGS, DRUG DEALERS & NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT!

FINAL UPDATE:  NOON (VIDEO:  COUNCILMEN INTERACT WITH CITIZENS)

UPDATE:  9:43 AM (VIDEO:  CITIZEN REACTION TO COMBINED WARDS 5, 7, 8 AND 9 MEETING)

UPDATE:  9:13 AM (VIDEO OF COUNCILMEN PRESENTATION POSTED)

THE BACKGROUND

Perhaps it has not yet dawned on them, but as the Stark County Political Report sees it,  the councilmen of Wards 5, 7, 8 and 9 of Canton City Council (Morris, Mack, Mariol and Fisher, whom The Report has dubbed as being "the young turks") have ignited a community action partnership with their constituents, indeed with all Cantonians, to drive the thugs, drug dealers and neighborhood blight out of the once great city of Canton and to "take Canton back" and refashion it into what it ought to be:  "a healthy, vibrant city" and a healthy place for the 47% to raise and nurture productive families.

A terrific thing about America is its heritage and legacy of being "a land of opportunity" for those who will roll up their sleeves and embrace daunting tasks.

About 75 Cantonians showed up at Canton City Council chambers last night to engage in a dialogue with Fisher, Mack, Mariol and Morris.

And the conversation, the SCPR believes, is an igniting spark that will over time spread the notion that folks can solve their own problems by working in partnership with others (government, the private business sector and community builders) in a thought out plan of action to achieve identified goals.

The SCPR took about one and one half hours of video last night.

What follows is a summary - the "keys" that occurred (documented by the video presented below that The Report has compiled).

THE KEYS

• From Councilman Frank Morris (bio LINK), the ninth ward:
• Purpose of meeting - "bringing the communities together."
• "to bring you [the citizens] together to tell us [the councilpersons] what we are supposed to be doing."
•  "to deal with nuisance properties [within the city of Canton]" which are the underlying cause of 90% of the crime which occurs in Canton's neighborhoods,
• to identify solutions to curing the underlying conditions which foster crime in Canton's neighborhoods,
• Introduces the remaining three "young turks" (of the group of four newly elected council men [November, 2011] tabbed by the SCPR as "the young turks) as being the point persons to work with the citizens of Canton to find solutions to the city's crime fostering problems,
• From Councilman Kevin Fisher (bio LINK), the fifth ward:
• What has been done to solve the nuisance/vacant property problem which creates conditions for crime to thrive in?
• Passage of a "Foreclosed Vacant Housing Ordinance,
• the bank title holding entities "to foot the bill," for dealing with depressed properties; not the taxpayers,
• Working out the particulars of getting the law enforced,
• The formation of Canton's land bank designed to target abandoned, dilapidated properties to be torn down,
• Canton could get as much as $4.3 million from state of Ohio/Stark County funding mechanism to tear down Canton's blighted properties,
• Would translate into demolition of some 660 houses (which is more than is on the current demolition list) by the end of 2013 on the condition that Canton can come up with some "creative financing" (e.g. the issuance of a city bond) for its share of a required local match for land bank funds,
• The coming together of "the young turks." How this coalition of newly elected councilmen came about, and,
• Lastly, Fisher leads into the introduction of the question of:  What is next?
• From Councilman John Mariol, (bio LINK) the seventh ward:
• The consequences (in part) of blighted neighborhoods for Cantonians:
• a 29% average property value loss since 2006,
• which represents a $450 million equity loss to citizens,
• about 1,100 homes in Canton need to come down which means that about a total of $7 million to $11 million in funding is needed,
• A goal for Canton has to be to stabilize property values and, indeed, to reverse value decline so that property value increase,
• Ideas on accomplishing the goal?
• the proposed demolition program,
• a program to promote home ownership and get away from Canton being a top-heavy rental property community,
• Canton has a huge inventory of foreclosed homes that need to be put back in productive (maintained) use.  How to do that?
• a downpayment assistance program?
• grants/forgiveable loan program?
• From Councilman Edmond Mack (bio LINK), the eighth ward:
• What can Cantonians do in a partnership way with Canton government "to turn Canton around?"
• take ownership of vacant land (through the Canton/Stark County land bank and Stark County "Interested Purchaser Program,") formerly occupied by blighted properties to maintain them and to put them to productive and creative use,
• be the "eyes and ears" of Canton government in the sense of identifying properties in their neighborhoods which are occupied and in use which are not up to code so that Canton can apply its tough "property maintenance code" to create a paper trail which makes ultimate remediation of problem property doable on a faster time track

VIDEO OF THE YOUNG TURKS' CONSTITUENT PRESENTATION:



 CITIZEN/CONSTITUENT REACTION

Of course, it one thing to present and it is quite another to motivate.

The Report's sense of the aire and tone of the meeting was that the councilmen:

• in describing Canton's problems in terms of it being a dying city, 
• in detailing what they have already started as partial remedies to what ails the Hall of Fame city and in enlisting the participation of citizens in being part of the solution,

made significant inroad towards making everyday Cantonians believers that they working with Canton government can be difference makers in turning Canton around from being a city in free fall to one that is pulling itself up by the bootstraps and putting itself on a upwards trajectory.

Here is a video of interviews done by the SCPR immediately after the combined Wards 5, 7, 8 and 9 meeting with citizens and their reactions/expectation coming out of the meeting:



CITIZEN/COUNCIL INTERACTION

Next, the SCPR presents the full video of the back and forth between Councilmen Fisher, Mack, Mariol and Morris that occurred last night.

Somewhere in the video, Councilman Morris relates to the audience that when he, Fisher, Mack and Mariol first showed up in council as duly elected and sworn-in members, the first advice they got was to be low key, quiet, don't make waves and therefore get reelected.

Sort of like another relatively new and young Canton councilman, that is to say Councilman-at-Large Joe Cole (the SCPR's assessment; not Morris'), no?

Most importantly, Morris states flat-out that he and his three fellows "have a plan, a vision" that Canton has not had to pull the once august city out of the mire of decline into viability and even, perhaps, a once again greatness.

However, these councilmen understand that they cannot do it alone.  That the need everyday citizens to join with them to get all of Canton City Council on board a well thought out "for the good of the citizens - not the politicians" systematic plan of rehabilitation.

In this spirit, the four novice councilmen exchanged viewpoints with their constituents.

An important thing that SCPR readers should focus on in viewing this video is that these councilmen are listening, evaluating and are totally open to changing their viewpoints on what look the specific of the plan of revitalization should take on as Canton city government moves forward in implementing the plan.

Here is that video.  It is "a must see" for anyone who cares about and/or  wants to be a part of the rehabilitation of the once great city of Canton.