ELECT TOM HETRICK
PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL
Putting our Neighborhoods First
BACKGROUND
Tom has a master's degree in City Planning from Ohio State University. He also has a bachelor's degree in Education from Youngstown State University.
Tom has owned his home on Catalina Ave. on the north side since 2014.
Tom worked as a neighborhood planner in Youngstown for 7 years. He now works in community health and nutrition.
EXPERIENCE
Tom has worked on neighborhood quality of life issues for ten years.
Tom wrote housing, infrastructure and safety plans for 15 Youngstown neighborhoods. Tom wrote grants for new sidewalks around our elementary schools. Tom raised money for playground improvements. Tom organized community events to brighten neighborhood corridors and provide activities for youth. Tom managed a farmers market and set up programs to help residents get more healthy food.
HOUSING
Neighborhood Action Plans: Tom worked with residents to identify issues and prioritize solutions, resulting in millions of dollars invested into revitalizing our neighborhoods through demolition, code enforcement, vacant lot improvements and maintenance, streetlight repair, sidewalk replacement and park improvements
Quality Housing: Tom inspected hundreds of rental properties on the south side to ensure residents have safe, quality housing and engaged landlords and residents to develop a citywide housing improvement strategy.
Media: https://www.mahoningmatters.com/local-news/feedback-sought-for-development-of-youngstown-housing-strategy-2003633
INFRASTRUCTURE
Safe Routes to School: Tom raised nearly two million dollars from ODOT to replace sidewalks around elementary schools, with future projects to include lighting upgrades.
Park Improvements: Tom interviewed kids using our city parks and raised more than a million dollars to implement what kids wanted, including new splash pads, playground equipment, basketballs courts, and lighting.
Corridor Revitalization: Tom worked to encourage economic development on our corridors through Better Block events, improvements to South Avenue storefronts, creating an inventory of contaminated abandoned gas stations, and raising funding from the US EPA to begin cleaning them up.
Media: https://www.wfmj.com/story/30125270/development-group-brings-the-better-block-to-youngstown
https://businessjournaldaily.com/fitness-stations-to-be-unveiled-at-city-parks/
https://vindyarchives.com/news/2016/mar/03/improvements-planned-near-city-grade-sch/
https://businessjournaldaily.com/better-block-sets-up-shops-sunday-in-brownlee-woods/
https://businessjournaldaily.com/city-gets-200k-to-identify-remediate-petroleum-sites/
SAFETY
Community Safety: Tom organized a listening campaign that engaged hundreds of south side residents to identify, prioritize, and solve issues affecting neighborhood safety, leading to a one million dollar grant from the US DOJ to implement a crime prevention strategy featuring weekly summer youth programming for two summers.
Media: https://www.wfmj.com/story/38400205/southside-summer-experience-helps-city-children
https://vindyarchives.com/news/2017/sep/24/youngstown-awarded-850000-feds-beef-crime-fighting/
HEALTHY FOOD
Healthy Food Access: Tom works with grocery store owners, farmers markets, and healthcare providers to make healthy food more accessible and affordable to Mahoning Valley residents, resulting in more than $500,000 in fruit and vegetables purchases since 2018.
https://businessjournaldaily.com/local-farmers-nurture-growing-client-base/
