'Participation, partnership' in focus as Johnstown officials gather for State of the City Address

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Johnstown City Manager Art Martynuska touched upon a wide range of subjects, such as blight removal, public safety, major infrastructure projects, the importance of local collaboration and the general future of the municipality, during the annual State of the City Address on Tuesday.

Overall, Martynuska assessed Johnstown's current situation by saying, "Things are moving in the city," during the event that was sponsored by the Cambria Regional Chamber.

Greg Winger, vice chairman of the chamber, agreed.

"A lot of things are moving forward within the city, which is obviously the direction we all want to go," Winger said.

Winger added: "Cooperation, participation, partnership – I really think it's very, very important for all of us in the room to remember to help move the city forward together, folks within the room here and collectively at large in the community."

Along with Martynuska's presentation at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center, Mayor the Rev. Sylvia King commented about the growing relationship among the current Johnstown City Council members, most of whom are political newcomers.

"(Martynuska and King) did a nice job explaining, providing optimism and not only some of the achievements, but also what we have to strive for to make it even better," said Rodney Reider, chief executive officer of Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, the city's largest employer.

Blight removal a priority

City officials recently went street by street to identify properties for priority blight removal.

Martynuska said there are 147 structures that "need to come down immediately" and 257 more that "need to come down probably within the next year." But funding is required to do the demolitions.

"We're putting our plan together, seeking some funding for blight removal, so we can make that happen sooner than later," Martynuska said. "One of the caveats to that is that once you take that structure down, now you have an empty lot, and that empty lot needs maintained. So there are some logistics there that we have to try and work our way around."

Hundreds of dilapidated structures have already been razed in recent years through a collaborative effort of the city, the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and other entities.

Many of the buildings were left unused as the city's population has shrunk from more than 65,000 people in 1920 to 18,411 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.

‘Strategic planning' next step

Johnstown City Council formally adopted a comprehensive plan at its regular monthly meeting in May. It focuses on housing, jobs, public services, the environment, mobility and overall community development.

The process, which included interviews, public listening sessions, a survey and focus groups, took 19 months to complete.

"The next step that we're going to take is strategic planning," Martynuska said. "It's one thing to have a comprehensive plan saying, ‘These should be your goals.' Now we need to figure out how we're going to get there. That's strategy of tactics.

"How are we going to get to where we need to get? How are we going to get this housing rehab? How are we going to get new sidewalks? What do we need to do to move forward? And a lot of these things are all being done organically."

Martynuska mentioned how the city has already responded to concerns that have been raised by residents.

"We do listen to what people have to say to us," Martynuska said. "One of the concerns that we had was about safety downtown. We now have an officer downtown during the daylight hours. You may see him pedaling around a bicycle. He's our school resource officer, who is off during the summer.

"We also have cameras into all of our parking garages with more to come. And we're in … the conversation about doing a city-wide camera system and partnering with one of the big vendors, like Motorola or somebody of that nature, to make the town safer."

Public Safety Building upgrades

Bids for the Public Safety Building remodeling contract are expected to be opened July 8.

The century-old building, which houses the Johnstown Police Department and the Johnstown Fire Department, is expected to receive upgrades to its HVAC system, plumbing and electric, along with new modular jail cells and an elevator.

Martynuska pointed to the Public Safety Building upgrade as one of several projects taking place downtown.

Johnstown has invested more than $1 million into the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center. The remake of Central Park is scheduled to be completed in the coming weeks. The Main Street revitalization project will likely get underway next year.

Kiosks that will replace parking meters are being installed downtown.

And the City Hall clock was recently repaired, with the chimes now working again, creating what Martynuska described as "an old new noise" in the central business district.

‘Work very well as a team'

King started the presentation by standing together with the other members of Johnstown City Council – Deputy Mayor Charles Arnone, Samuel Barber, Lorraine Brandon-Taylor, Taylor Clark, Michael Hamacek and Nicholas Spinelli.

King is in her first term as mayor after previously holding a regular council seat. Barber, Brandon-Taylor and Spinelli were all elected for the first time in 2025. Clark was appointed to council in March 2025 before being voted in last year. Hamacek was appointed in February.

The mayor said council members are still getting to know each other and "work very well as a team."

"We do our best to have unity," King said. "Does it mean that we always agree? No, it does not. But, at the end of the day, we try our best to come up with the best solution that we feel will be the best for all our residents. We want to be very inclusive."

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