Mayor’s Strategic Plan

‘Monessen: A New Vision’

About The Plan

Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw released the city’s first Mayor’s Strategic Plan, in order to reinvent and redevelop the former steel-producing city, in the Rust Belt. The city must reinvent itself for the 21st century. Goals within the plan consist of short, medium and long term goals, that could help drive inclusive growth, correct historical wrongs, change the perception of the city and its image, and pull Monessen out of the rut of only focusing on one issue at a time. Investments and capital improvements attract economic development, which are all things Monessen needs in order to build a more successful and productive community. The City of Monessen is in a great position to grow with the Pittsburgh Region. Pittsburgh is poised to see the urbanization and growth of its suburbs in the near future. Monessen can be part of that growth. Monessen was built to be a commercial and industrial hub for the area.

Monessen is lucky, in that it has a diverse population, a low cost of living, and a significant amount of vacant property to develop and rebuild. The city has a walkable urbanized downtown and walkable residential neighborhoods. In order to improve Monessen for its current residents, and to attract new people and businesses, we need to invest in people, places, and infrastructure, and enhance our quality of place. We need to address local societal issues like the opioid epidemic, depression, generational poverty, and a lack of economic opportunities, and provide solutions to those issues. We also need to ensure that everything we do provides social equity to all of our residents.

In regards to workforce and business, we have the opportunity to attract Mid-tech jobs, which are essentially “blue-collar” technology sector jobs. Given our economic history, and the workforce that we have available in Monessen and the surrounding region, this path forward makes sense. We can supplement the technology sector in Pittsburgh, by providing the production of parts needed in technology-related industries. This will provide jobs to Monessen, and will limit shipping cost and time for local companies in Pittsburgh and the rest of the region. All in all, Monessen is built for success; we just need to refocus our energies on reinvigorating our city, and shaping it into a welcoming, productive, and progressive city.

Additionally, the plan includes 17 sections, focusing on topics that impact Monessen and its people. These section include: An Efficient City: General City Administration, An Accessible City: Transit and Mobility, A Well-Planned City: Zoning and Land Use, An Innovative City: Innovation District, A City of Opportunities: Opportunity Zones, An Equitable City: Community and Economic Development, A Welcoming City: Diversity, Inclusion, Community Building, A Productive City: Business and Workforce Development, A Transparent City: Technology, Communication, and Transparency, A Stable City: Infrastructure, A Peaceful City: Parks and Public Places, An Outward-Facing City: Placemaking, Marketing and Data, A Youth-Centered City: Youth Involvement and Education, A Livable City: Blight Strategy , A Safe and Healthy City: Public Health, Crime, and Public Safety, and A Sustainable City: Sustainability.

This plan, entitled Monessen: A New Vision” is built upon the needs of the community, the Monessen Early Intervention Program plan from 2016, as well as best practices from cities across the country. The plan was created at no cost to the taxpayers. Some of the projects outlined in this plan, can be done with little to no cost, with volunteers, or other partnerships. In the instances where cost will come into play, unless otherwise noted in the plan, private funding through public-private partnerships, grant funding, foundation support and other donations will help to offset the costs, and grow the limited funding that the City of Monessen has. By doing this, we can get a bigger ‘bang for our buck’, without placing an additional burden on the taxpayers. 

This plan is meant to be a long-term plan to begin the process of rebuilding our city. We have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of hope and opportunity. Our city and its people are resilient: even decades after the fall of steel. Our resilience is what will help move our city into the future.