North Braddock man to lead local project
The Uniontown Redevelopment Authority hired a North Braddock man on Tuesday as the Elm Street manager, a grant-funded position created to coordinate the North Gallatin Avenue revitalization project. Jeff McLaughlin, who said he has a master’s degree in public administration and previously worked 12 years for the Mon Valley Initiative, will start work on Monday. The position pays $31,000 a year.
“I appreciate the opportunity I’ve been given,” McLaughlin said.
He said he dealt with revitalization and housing rehabilitation projects in Browns-ville, Monongahela, Charleroi, Monessen and Braddock in his previous job.
He said he also worked as the Main Street manager in Saxonburg, and noted that he applied for Uniontown’s Main Street manager’s job.
The Uniontown Downtown Business District Authority is in the process of hiring a Main Street manager to continue developing the Central Business District.
McLaughlin said the jobs of the Elm Street and Main Street managers are similar.
“The steps needed to make it work are the same,” he said.
Redevelopment authority chairman John Oris said the work history and credentials McLaughlin listed on his resume are so lengthy “you could wallpaper the wall” with them.
“We’re looking forward to working with you,” Oris said. “We want you to be successful.”
The redevelopment authority, city and the Gallatin Avenue Concerned Citizens Association received two grants totaling $400,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development for the Elm Street program.
A $250,000 grant is for blight removal, housing rehabilitation and streetscape improvements.
A $150,000 grant is for the manager’s salary, benefits and office expenses for three years.
In addition to that grant, the authority received a $500,000 grant that it and Threshold Housing Development of Uniontown are using to build 25 new houses for first-time homebuyers on North Gallatin Avenue and Walnut and Maple streets.
The redevelopment authority also obtained a $500,000 grant that is being used in a $6.5 million project in which the Fayette County Community Action Agency and PIRHL Development of Ohio are building 30 rent-to-own homes in the North Gallatin Avenue and East End neighborhoods.
McLaughlin’s will work in the authority’s offices in the Fayette Chamber of Commerce office at 65 W. Main St.
Redevelopment authority executive director Mark Yauger said about 20 people applied for the job, six of them met the qualifications and only Judy Vrabel and McLaughlin agreed to be interviewed for the position, probably due to the relatively low salary.
“Truthfully, our salary is not the highest,” Yauger said.
He said Vrabel was the first choice because her job with in the city’s zoning and code enforcement office made her familiar with the North Gallatin Avenue neighborhood.
Vrabel, who worked for the city as the part-time Downtown Business District Authority executive director and as a part-time clerk in the zoning and code office, was hired as the manager in April but resigned a month later.
Last week, Uniontown City Council hired her as a full-time zoning and code office clerk.
In other business, the authority submitted a $345,369 Community Development Block Grant application to the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
The application includes $75,000 for property acquisition and demolition, $75,000 for a payment on the city’s newest fire truck, $63,000 for planning and administration, $45,000 for street resurfacing, $40,583 for housing rehabilitation and $30,000 for an air cascade system for the fire department and $25,000 to match a grant for new sidewalks in the East End.
The redevelopment authority also approved an agreement with Community Action Agency to try to attract business development to the city-owned parking lot adjacent to the Fayette County Public Service Building.
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