Mahoning County Land Bank Director Joins Board of New Ohio Land Bank Association
A new association that aims to create a voice for Ohio’s emerging county land banks has selected Mahoning County Land Bank Executive Director Debora Flora as one of its nine board members.
The newly formed Ohio Land Bank Association will support the work of county land reutilization corporations, commonly referred to as land banks, across Ohio. It is made up of representatives from 57 counties ranging in population from less than 150,000 to greater than 750,000. The association will also help establish land banks in other Ohio counties.
Flora will serve a 2-year term representing medium-sized county land banks with populations of 150,000 to 300,000.
“The new association adds permanence to the land bank movement,” said Flora. “I look forward to working on behalf of all land banks, especially the mid-sized land banks that are making great progress in revitalizing neighborhoods and business districts.”
Flora will serve on the OLBA board of directors along with:
- Gus Frangos, President, Cuyahoga County Land Bank
- Curtiss Williams, Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation (Franklin County)
- Patrick Bravo, Executive Director, Summit County Land Bank
- David Mann, President & CEO, Lucas County Land Bank
- Shawn Carvin, Land Bank Program Director, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership
- Amy Hamrick, Manager, Richland County Land Bank
- Tom Schneider, Director, Lawrence County Land Bank
- Carol Knapp, Executive Director, Huron County Developmental Council
OLBA officers include:
- Gus Frangos, OLBA President
- David Mann, OLBA Secretary/Treasurer
Flora was among those who started the Mahoning County Land Bank in 2012 to focus on removing badly blighted, unused properties from neighborhoods and business districts across the county. The land bank added more than $5 million of activity to the local economy in 2018, largely by acquiring and tearing down abandoned housing and landscaping the lots. It completed 434 projects in 11 communities last year.
Prior to her work with the land bank, Flora was a reporter and editor with The Vindicator. The Youngstown native earned her bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University in 1989.
The Mahoning County Land Bank is a nonprofit community improvement corporation dedicated to acquiring vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and making them productive again. The land bank assists local governments in assembling land for future projects and collaborates with civic, religious and nonprofit organizations to create new green spaces and community gardens.