Struthers getting expert advice on how to revitalize the community
Professional advisors from America in Bloom are in Struthers for the next two days.
The non-profit is evaluating the city on its revitalization and beautification programs. It's a chance for the city to get a blueprint on how to better its community and bring in more economic development.
"America in Bloom, it's about flowers and plants and what our city looks like and what it appears to be and if there are different projects that we can do to add different details here and there throughout the city, really give us an overview and a report we can use to apply for grant monies to make projects happen in the future," Struthers Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said.
One of the stops on Monday was at the house of Jan and Ron Cochenour and a walkthrough of their garden oasis and greenhouse.
"Everything you see was grown from seed for the most part and that was what the greenhouse did for us this past year, we just loaded it up with seeds and saw what we could get going and put it out and I want to be able to take this and somehow apply it to the community at large," Jan Cochenour said.
Advisors with America in Bloom say they see plenty of potential.
"It is a very charming community and I see a lot of building blocks for a place that is probably just on the cusp on some really amazing things," Connie Baggett said. "The setting is beautiful. The natural resources that I can see just driving through are fantastic, all the homes have either potential or realized their potential, beautiful cottage homes."
The city of Struthers hired America in Bloom, a non-profit, to give them an overall assessment of their city in areas like community vitality, floral impact, landscaped areas, urban forestry, environmental initiatives, celebrating heritage and overall impression.
"There's really no limit to what you can do here if you choose the direction you want your town to go in, you've got all the building blocks you need to help it get there, if we can help organize that effort, that is what we are here to do, to help you get the most out of your effort, to organize your priorities and figure out what you can do fast and figure out what to put on the slow burner to help on down the road but anything we can do to help Struthers become a better community, I'm going to come back here in ten years I know and be super proud of the things Struthers gets to accomplish over that time," Baggett said.
Connie Baggett, one of the America in Bloom advisors says she has seen first hand how the non-profit can improve communities including her town of Brewton, Alabama.
"By the fourth year, we were able to land a 3000-job informational technology startup company in our town and they pointed to what we done with beautification and with the seven criteria of America in Bloom as why they chose us over about 200 other towns across the country," Baggett said. "We love to share advice. We love to share how we got where we are and help other communities do the same thing. It has been phenomenal to watch communities grow and prosper because of the approach they take and if we can help do that in some way and spread it to more communities, everybody is very generous to help do that."
There is also a competition aspect where communities compete with one another for awards and national recognition. This is the second year that Struthers has had America in Bloom out to their community.
"Last year unfortunately we didn't win any awards but we did get a nice comprehensive plan and a nice result out of that," Mayor Miller said. "This year we want to be more intentional about what we're doing so they can give us specific projects and specific goals that are attainable so we can go out and ask for different monies for different projects, they see them come to fruition."