Main Street Barberton Launches

Main Street Barberton Launches

by | Jan 6, 2023 | Announcements, Downtown Barberton

New Barberton Nonprofit ‘Main Street Barberton’ Focused on Bringing More Activity and Prosperity to Downtown Barberton

Main Street Barberton Officially Launches After Nearly A Year of Research and Planning, Headed by Board Chairman Denny Liddle and Backed by the City of Barberton, Barberton Community Foundation, and More.

A new nonprofit organization, called Main Street Barberton,
has begun its official operations in the Magic City.
The goal of Main Street Barberton is to create new economic growth and development opportunities in the City of Barberton’s downtown district by rehabilitating and revitalizing the
downtown Barberton area.

While much progress has been made in downtown Barberton in recent years, a core group of citizens and financial backers came together to speed up progress while including more community members in the process.

“I have studied some of the great downtown areas in Ohio, like Wadsworth, Medina, Kent and Tiffin, and they all have one thing in common – they are part of the Main Street program offered
by Heritage Ohio,” said Main Street Barberton Board President Denny Liddle. “They have a well-proven approach to solving not a couple of issues that plague many downtowns, but an
approach that’s designed to address all of the interrelated issues that prevent a downtown from bringing shoppers, residents, businesses, and activity. I’m very excited for this organization to
get going!”

The Main Street project began as an idea at the Barberton Community Foundation, and then interest grew beyond the Foundation – financially backing the $5,000 initial investment in the project came from the Barberton Community Foundation, Arts Now, the City of Barberton, Downtown Barberton Merchant’s Association, Ignite Brewing Company, Neighborhood
Development Services, and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro.

“I have seen the great work that Heritage Ohio has done throughout the state, and the successful impact of their program in a variety of downtowns,” said Executive Director of the
Barberton Community Foundation Suzanne Allen. “I can’t wait to see this program take root in the Magic City!”

Creating Main Street Barberton
Heritage Ohio is the state of Ohio’s “official historic preservation and Main Street organization,” working to leverage historic buildings and architecture, neighborhoods, and commercial
districts through sustainable economic development programs.

Heritage Ohio’s flagship “Main Street” program begins with a visit from “D.A.R.T.,” its Downtown Assessment Resource Team. The D.A.R.T. team visits for 2 days and meets with community
stakeholders, spends time in the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, and conducts focus groups with residents to unearth what community members have as a vision for an ideal
downtown.

Once the vision is collected, Heritage Ohio combines what has been learned with its own independent research, then publishes a report back to the community.

A stakeholder group of nearly 25 community leaders was then formed. The group met monthly, and evolved into a steering committee that carried out the recommendations from the D.A.R.T. report.

Most important amongst the recommendations from the report is this – a focused organization must be established in order to achieve the vision for the downtown that the community has.
Hence, Main Street Barberton was born!

The steering committee’s last duty was to establish a board of directors.

From there, the board of directors established four committees with different roles and responsibilities. The board, which meets monthly beginning in January 2023, has adopted a Code of Regulations and is beginning to map out committee work plans for the next 12 to 24 months.

Additionally, Articles of Incorporation have been filed with the Ohio Secretary of State, and the Certificate of Approval has been granted by the state.

Main Street Barberton Board of Directors
Denny Liddle – Board President
Tim Eberhardt – Board Vice President
Ann Hutchison – Treasurer / Secretary
Jim Bauschlinger (committee chair, Economic Development)
Ted Herncane (committee chair, Design)
Deb Shreiner (committee co-chair, Organization and Promotion)
Josh Gordon (committee co-chair, Organization and Promotion)
Mayor Bill Judge
Jason Ondrus
Dorothy Somerville

Each committee chair is seeking interested community members to join their committee and work on projects from marketing and promoting downtown to cleaning up buildings and improving the spaces in the downtown area.

While the committees will be hard at work, the board also has plans to hire an executive director for Main Street Barberton, launching a talent search to fill the role later in 2023.

The organization’s primary funding for its first three years of operation will come from the Barberton Community Foundation and the City of Barberton.

“This Main Street program is another example of why we are so fortunate to have a passionate community here in Barberton,” Allen said. “Many communities need the type of focused work
that Main Street Barberton will be able to accomplish, but Barberton is able to make it happen thanks to the strength of its many organizations and how well they work together.”

Get Involved
If you are interested in learning more, or wish to serve on a committee, please contact the Barberton Community Foundation.

About Main Street Barberton
Main Street Barberton is a nonprofit organization in the City of Barberton focused on rehabilitating and revitalizing the downtown area through economic development and growth
activities. Established in 2022, the organization aims to provide the citizens of Barberton – and residents all over the state of Ohio – a unique and magical downtown experience.

###

Partners Discuss Barberton Community Needs Assessment Report

Partners Discuss Barberton Community Needs Assessment Report

by | Jul 13, 2022 | Economic Development

Partners Discuss Needs Assessment Report

At the start of the year, four agencies – Barberton Community Foundation, the City of Barberton, Barberton City School District and Summa Health System – commissioned a community needs assessment for Barberton. Now, they are set to release the report’s executive summary to the public in the coming weeks.

Barberton Community Foundation introduced the needs assessment as an important piece in future planning. “As a collective, we wanted to know Barberton’s top needs at the community and individual levels,” said Dr. Suzanne Allen, executive director of Barberton Community Foundation. “The Foundation is assessing our strategic goals for the next several years, and we need reliable data to help us make informed decisions.”

Measurement Resources Company (MRC), an organizational development and research firm headquartered in Powell, Ohio, was selected to conduct a city-wide survey, engage focus groups and deliver data-driven results to questions designed to identify needs, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities within the city.

“MRC partners with nonprofit organizations and government agencies in leading community-level data collection efforts, and then synthesizes and analyzes that data,” said Sheri Chaney Jones, president, MRC. “We used a mixed methods approach for this community needs assessment so that we could engage and incorporate the voices of more than 1,100 individuals throughout the Barberton community. By providing community members a mechanism to offer confidential and structured feedback about their perceptions of Barberton, the community helped to identify the greatest challenges that Barberton faces, as well as its top opportunities and attributes.”

Barberton residents and workers identified their top strengths and values as “high appreciation” for parks and natural resources; a sense of shared history and culture; a high degree of pro-social attitudes emphasizing community, support and a high valuation of family; a stable population with large numbers of mid-life and work-age adults; strong K-12 school system with perceived high attendance; and a perception that healthcare services are useful for children and mothers along with recent improvements in mental health treatment resources.

Identified challenges were condensed into four top categories such as improvements to road conditions and sidewalks; a need for increased financial stability; greater collaboration and trust between residents, current or prospective business owners and city leadership; and greater diversity and inclusion for people of color, single mothers and individuals of different ages and abilities with respect to Barberton’s social dynamics and recreational opportunities.

The data was collected from February 15 to April 30, 2022 and was targeted toward people who live and/or work in Barberton. More than 1,100 surveys were completed using both online and paper survey formats. Twelve focus groups met representing local business owners, community members of minority race and/or ethnicity groups, low-income households, social services providers, Fire/EMS personnel, parents of children with disabilities, older adults and others. Secondary data from additional sources like the American Community Survey, County Health Rankings and the U.S. Census supplemented MRC’s methodology.

Mayor Bill Judge, City of Barberton, said that the top needs did not come as a surprise, and thanked MRC for the report. “I’m grateful to have a third party review our biggest needs as a city,” he said. “It comes as no surprise to residents that road conditions and infrastructure are top concerns, and we already have plans underway as we continue to work to address these concerns.”  Mayor Judge concluded that the strengths found in the study reflect what makes Barberton unique. “The people of Barberton really believe in and value this community. Barberton pride is real. Seeing that reflected in the survey gives me hope we can overcome our challenges.”

Dr. Michael Hughes, president of the Summa Health System – Barberton Campus, said it is encouraging to see the strengths of the community reflected in the study. “There are many qualities that make our city great, and the needs assessment is an important tool to help us better understand how to continue to grow our community,” he said. “At Summa, we are very focused on providing not only outstanding healthcare, but also opportunities for meaningful employment on our Barberton campus and across the organization.”

Since the beginning of his tenure as president of the campus, Dr. Hughes has prioritized keeping the Barberton campus engaged and active within the community. “It’s part of our commitment to being a good community partner,” he said. “From the individual level, where each of our employees is encouraged to volunteer in the community, to the organizational level where we are at the table supporting City initiatives, we are focused on collaboration and building on the many attributes that attract people who want to live, work and raise a family here.” He hopes his approach will contribute to a growing population that puts roots in Barberton.

Barberton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Ramnytz shared the sentiments of many regarding the partnership of four Barberton entities, saying, “The needs assessment is a very important baseline to gauge how our citizens feel about our community.  Barberton is a very special place. I’ve never seen in any other place a greater collaborative and supportive nature between the city, the schools, the local hospital, the Foundation, the business community and our citizens.”

He added, “In the Barberton City Schools, we have many opportunities for our children and families. We have amazing staff members, programming, support systems, and connections with businesses that provide good paying career pathways.  Our hope, as always, is for our students and families to take advantage of what we have to offer.”

Barberton Community Foundation, the City of Barberton, Barberton City School District and Summa Health System will take this survey results into consideration for each organization’s strategic planning.