Morning Journal/ Mary Ann Greier This is one of several murals that are part of a mural program known as Potters Progress, a colorful depiction of the city’s history across from Giant Eagle along Bradshaw Avenue.

EAST LIVERPOOL — The city of East Liverpool is cleaning up both the neighborhoods and downtown, tackling blighted homes, painting murals and securing grants for revitalization — all to attract more residents and businesses.

“You can live anywhere, why not East Liverpool?” Mayor Greg Bricker asked.

During a recent interview, Bricker highlighted some of the programs in place to improve the city, including some recent legislation approved by council, the continuation of the blight remediation and demolition project, and plans to make the riverfront and downtown a destination.

“The river’s our biggest asset,” he said.

The city already received $60,000 for a downtown revitalization project and Broadway Wharf revitalization.

“The vision is some sort of amphitheater to draw more people down there and make it a more usable space,” Bricker said.

He also said they need to make the area more boat friendly, have more events and added “we’re actually trying to get some pickle ball courts in downtown.”

The downtown already has some features to catch the eye, such as the murals near Giant Eagle and the one being painted on the Broadway overpass with the columns in Fiesta Ware colors and the word East Liverpool in Potter blue. The umbrellas along Dawson Way sponsored by the East Liverpool Calcutta Area Garden Club provide a colorful shady spot where shoppers in the downtown can relax.

Bricker also mentioned all the successful events in the downtown, including First Fridays sponsored by the East Liverpool Community Partnership for Revitalization.

“Amazing to see so many organizations and individuals coming together for the betterment of the city,” he said.

He’s also excited about the East Liverpool Riverfront Trail Project. A feasibility study was done late last year for a bike trail that would start at the downtown Diamond and move along the river to the Pennsylvania border, a distance of more than 4.5 miles. A $925,000 grant has already been awarded by the Ohio Department of Transportation and there’s a potential for another $1 million from federal earmarks.

City council this summer authorized the mayor to enter a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Community Improvement Corporation for the Facade Loan Program, using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The program will provide matching funds to building owners who want to make improvements to their downtown building facades. The city received $100,000 from county commissioners for the program and the city will contribute $80,000, all from ARPA money.

City council also approved legislation for the mayor to enter an agreement between the city and CIC for the Thompson Building Restoration Project, aimed at renovating the historic structure located on the Diamond. A pre-application for a grant has been submitted, with the final submission coming due. Work is also being done to submit an application to the JobsOhio Vibrant Community Program.

Plans call for a mixed-use four-story facility with apartments on the upper floors, offices on the second floor and retail on the first floor.

The city has been working with Towne Center Associates on the downtown, with Bricker noting that 13 buildings have changed hands, saying “to me that’s a seismic shift.” He said “the right owners are buying the buildings who have the capital and the wherewithal to save them.” He also said close to 15 new businesses are in the city in the downtown area.

“We’re trying to reduce the number of vacancies,” he said.

He said the city is using grant money, not city tax dollars, on these programs.

Earlier this month, city council gave final approval for a new chapter in the ordinances, dealing with housing code, a move that Bricker said gives more teeth to the housing department and more ability to go after bad property owners.

Dealing with the housing blight and abandoned homes was the number one goal when he came into office. He cited partnerships with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC), the Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation (commonly known as the land bank), Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino, Columbiana County Treasurer Bryan Blakeman, the Columbiana County Commissioners and state Sen. Michael Rulli and state Rep. Tim Ginter, noting the city will be going after 400 abandoned homes.

The city has received money from a number of sources toward the blight remediation this year, including the state budget, county commissioners, Heritage Thermal and $114,000 the mayor raised from local residents, foundations and businesses.

He said he was thankful for the partnership with the county land bank, which is helping with the administrative work required.

More than 40 homes have been torn down so far, with the mayor hoping for another 50 to be torn down by the end of the year.

In a press release about the efforts, Bricker said, “Tearing homes down is not the ultimate goal but rehabbing homes that can be saved and building new homes on the vacant lots. Unfortunately, many of these homes have sat vacant for well over a decade and cannot be saved but by establishing new processes with the country treasurer and prosecutor we can get these homes through the process of sheriff sale much faster increasing the chances of saving/rehabbing the home instead of tearing it down. By rehabbing the home, we can get more home owners in the city and restore pride in our neighborhoods.”

Bricker said they’ve seen success so far with removing some of the eyesores to transform neighborhoods.

“The city has over $600,000 to keep going after blighted properties and with our continuous relationship with the county land bank we will solve our housing crisis. By removing the abandoned structures, we are also working with housing developers to build new homes, something that has not happened in the city in over a decade,” he said in the press release.

Bricker said the street department has been working on paving and patching as much as possible on city streets and there’s a lot in the works for improvements. The city has been applying for every grant possible, with more than $5 million in grants received the past two years.

He was one of several officials to attend the governor’s announcement about the new Appalachian program, which could bring even more money to the city for economic development and infrastructure.

“We’re very excited about that,” he said.