- Hi there, I'm Stephanie Marie and you have just tuned into a PBS Western Reserve special series, City Centric.

That's right, this is Sharon Centric.

I'm here inside of the Buhl Mansion, a historical landmark in Sharon, Pennsylvania, built by Frank Buhl, a man who alongside his wife Julia, used their fortune to support and vitalize the community of Sharon.

In the next half hour, we will hear from six people who share and carry on Frank's love and optimism for the city of Sharon.

They have rolled up their sleeves and dedicated their passions, talents and efforts to revitalize Sharon.

Our show begins with the president of the Sharon City Council, Molly Bundrant, who channels her optimism and passion for the city of Sharon to affect positive change.

- My name is Molly Bundrant and I'm the president of Sharon City Council and I am a politician.

I guess just a politician to me is just somebody that was elected to do something that needs to be done.

I don't feel like a politician.

I just feel like somebody that enough people knew and enough people trusted and that wanted me to, you know, be their voice, I guess.

I'm on city council because I felt that there was a need in the city that wasn't being met and so I decided to do something about it rather than talk.

I made it a priority to take care of blight in the city and to try to provide more recreation for the kids here.

We had houses that were empty.

We weren't doing anything with them.

People were getting into them and doing things that weren't okay.

That property just kind of sits there as a zombie property.

And then myself and our city manager and our code department, we all did a lot of talking with the county, trying to figure out how we can go about taking over the properties.

We know citizens next door want us to do something but it's not technically our properties.

We went through a judicial sale process which is something that the county started in order for us to be able to address blight and the Lots to Love program came out of us doing all this for research into finding out how we could take these properties so that we could do something positive with them.

And as far as the recreation, we didn't have a lot of feeder programs, we didn't have a lot going on.

We used to have a playground system in the city and we partnered with the school over the summer.

We had full-time staff at the playgrounds.

When I was in college, I worked at the playgrounds for the rec board and it was one of my favorite jobs to this day.

And that kind of fell to pieces and myself with a group of other people felt that it needed to come back, because, you know, kids need something positive to do and they need positive role models.

I think recreation's important to a community because it's what you do.

What do you do if you don't have recreation?

What do you do if you're not outside playing?

What do you do if you don't have bike paths?

What do you do if you don't have somewhere to walk and play and sports to join?

I mean, the more there is to do and the more fun there is to be had, more people are gonna wanna stay, right?

When you're on city council, people will come and tell you about a need that they see and then somebody else will come and say, well, hey, you know what else is an issue?

So the fun part, I think, is taking what one person said, putting it together with what somebody else had told you and then, you know, listening to somebody say, hey, this funding is available, what could we do with that?

And then when you finally get to put it all together and say, hey, you know, let's put a committee together and really look at this because here's a need that we have and here's a need that we have and here's a funding source that we have and here's how we can fix that problem.

And we honestly have the best people working for the city right now that are so good at making it happen.

Sharon's going forward.

We're always gonna move forward.

We're not going backwards ever.

It's not, you know, it's just not an option.

(soft music) - Do something about it instead of talking about it.

Not only is that great life advice, but it's the attitude that many of the amazing Sharon residents have in common.

Our next guest is a humanitarian who recognizes the importance of having safe and accessible outdoor recreation for the youth of Sharon.

- My name is Michael Kotyk and I'm a humanitarian.

I believe a humanitarian cares enough about others as much as himself and he's willing to spend time and effort to prove that.

I love this community.

It not my hometown, but I've made it my hometown.

I love the people here and I love the vision a lot of people have for this community.

My main interest is youth recreation.

Recreation can mean a lot of different things to people.

It can be outside exercising.

I mean, going out in your backyard and doing jumping jacks is recreation.

I like to see trails, I like to ride a bike.

So I believe trails are a way of connecting recreation sites.

So just having a trail out and back, that's great, but having a trail that leads from one part to another or to a ball field or to a concert venue or to an art display or to the riverbank to watch the geese in the river, to me, that's all a form of recreation.

One of the free spots for recreation, most things is Buhl Park.

Yet if you're in downtown Sharon and your mother's working and only has one car, how do you get there in the summer?

So that's why the bike lanes were important to me to be able to get those children to the park safely.

The trails group, if you wanna build a trail, you gotta convince government or the municipality that hey, we want to do this trail.

We think it's great for the economy, for the citizens, for recreation.

We assembled a focus group of people from Hermitage, Sharpsville, Sharon, of course, Farrell, and we all got together downtown at City Building and we discussed the feasibility of having a bike trail that would lead from downtown Sharon up to Buhl Park.

So here Sharon City was in agreement that the trail is a good idea.

The Sharon government can't build a trail in Hermitage, so we had to get buy-in from Hermitage and it was amazing.

All the communities agreed this is a worthwhile project.

And where Sharon stopped the trail at the city line, Hermitage secured the funding to continue it into their municipality.

So to continue the trail further, we had to get buy-in from Buhl Park and they thought it was a great idea, all with the sole purpose of getting kids from downtown Sharon and the West Hill on a dedicated bike trail into Buhl Park.

And that's how the trail came about.

- Tom Roskis, I'm the executive director at Buhl Park.

Yeah, so you're here just north of Sharon in Buhl Park.

We're standing behind you at about a quarter mile paved pump track here in Buhl Park where we've had lots of success over the years with kids, adults using it for many, many reasons.

Beauty of a paved pump track is you can skateboard on it, you can roller blade on it, you can scooter on it, and you can use any type of bike on it as well.

It's a heck of an exercise.

The idea behind it is you don't pedal.

You get on it.

The way the track flows allows for you to get a good workout, arms and lower body and propel the bike, you know, in front of you across the track.

- We got a great park, a free golf course, and we're starting to develop bike trails throughout this area.

What more could anybody ask for?

We're here highlighting a three prong project that involved the city of Sharon with the bike lane.

City of Hermitage continued the bike lane and Buhl Park brought the bike lane from downtown Sharon and points in Hermitage to this pump track.

People who don't have access, young kids that don't have access to automobiles can ride their bikes up here and enjoy free pump track.

Increasing what we do here from a cultural and recreational standpoint, because right here in this valley is everything you really need.

We've got a beautiful river.

There's a lot that the Chenango Valley has to offer and I just wanna be part of it.

(soft music) - Is there anything better than a Sunday morning bike ride in the park?

Mike's passion and dedication to providing accessible outdoor recreation for kids is inspiring.

Up next is someone who has dedicated themselves to the future of Sharon by working to preserve its illustrious past.

Meet Sharon's future, Taylor Galaska.

- I am Taylor Galaska and I am the future.

I think I'm Sharon centric because I am younger and I have decided to stay here.

I invest a lot of time into the city through city council, through the historical society.

So I think there's a lot of, you know, focusing on Sharon, what can we do to make it better?

And even in my personal time, I mean, my social media is always Sharon centric for lack of a better word.

I mean, you know, it's always just promoting the city just because that's what I love.

And the people here are definitely not like every other small town.

There's a lot of doers and I would say there's a lot of opportunity.

So that's probably one of the most intriguing things about Sharon.

I really love architecture and history.

Those are two of the biggest things that I think a lot of people don't know about the city.

We really need to focus on our history because in the beginning of the city, the river did become very important for the development.

And I think we're seeing that again with our downtown.

The buildings are built on the river.

A lot of cities that you go to that do have a river kind of close to the city, it's always kind of off to the side.

And our city has really focused on the river.

Even back in the day, they knew how important the river was, that they built the city like on the river.

So it's very European, something that you wouldn't see usually in like a American city design.

I had never really thought about getting into politics.

My grandfather, before he passed, always said I was gonna be the mayor of Sharon.

I decided to run for city council because I thought it was a good time to get involved.

I had kind of been on the sidelines, kind of champion, you know, like cheerleading on everything that, you know, the city was doing.

I definitely didn't expect to get as many votes as I did.

I was the top vote getter in the primaries and the general election.

The historical society is still fairly new that I'm president of.

We were founded in 2013, but I think with now being on city council, I can kind of, you know, bridge that gap and kind of start working together and hopefully, you know, maybe working on, you know, designating historic buildings, maybe historic districts, you know, focusing on preserving our history.

There are definitely some things I would like to change through my position as a city council person.

Revitalize downtown that has, you know, a diverse mix of different businesses for everyone, really focusing on efforts to attract new businesses here, which is something that we've kind of struggled with, you know, in the past and really focus on changing the mindset of people outside the area that maybe have never heard of Sharon and the mindset of the people that currently live here that think that Sharon will never be what it was.

I can't wait to tell people about Sharon.

Look at all the amazing things we have here and all the amazing things that are to come.

(soft music) - Taylor's love for the city of Sharon and his dedication to preserving and revitalizing its historic architecture will certainly be an inspiration for future generations.

Up next are two self-described revitalizers who have made it their personal mission to breathe new life into downtown Sharon while maintaining and respecting its rich history.

Jim Landino wakes up every single day thinking how he can make a positive impact on the city.

- So we've kinda like stuck our flag in the ground here and said, listen, we really wanna make a difference in downtown Sharon and we wanna bring in more and more people that can live, walk, you know, utilize the services in downtown.

The more people we can put in that want to see the town thrive and be successful, really the happier we'll be.

I'm Jim Landino.

- I'm his wife, Jen Krezeczowski.

- [Both] We are revitalizers.

(soft music) - So someone who might be Sharon centric would look like that person that wakes up every day with the idea of how they might be able to make a positive influence on the city.

We've been buying old properties, restoring them in some cases, and trying to put some energy and super vibes back into an area that really, really needs it.

- Well he starts, you know, from the basement and the dirt up and I start at the finished product and I think we kind merge to come together and then, so it's a good partnership for these projects.

It all revolves around the buildings and this motivation to really bring these buildings back to life.

And I think a lot of it is, it's just that was the catalyst for all the things that are happening.

And then, okay, well, why don't we do this?

And you know, the town needs a cool coffee shop and a place that's got some healthy food and, you know, needs some more stores and let's do a cool gift shop.

And you know what?

People are interested in these buildings.

Let's make apartments.

- So our mission is really to create this group of people, right?

That wake up every day happy with where they live, that have a high efficiency of life.

You know, in other words, we're not sitting at traffic lights, we're not wasting time in traffic.

We're able to maneuver very, very quickly, do business with ourselves and our friends and know that we're supporting, you know, a culture maybe and a community that could continue to inspire and be successful.

Because I think that was lost.

I think at some point in time people just gave up on really the city of Sharon and some people still do.

You'll never fix the town.

We hear that all the time, right?

But it's too late, we already are, and I know they're watching my leadership, right?

And they're saying if Jimmy's willing to go at it this hard and go at it this long, then why would we not do that with him?

There's only one secret sauce, right?

The secret sauce is going the extra mile, right?

It's not what you're going to do for this moment.

It's what you're gonna keep doing for the next moment and the next moment and the next moment.

- We all have aspects of our grandparents and our great grandparents and we're not them but that carries on with us.

So I like to kind of think of the buildings as the spirit of the building is being carried on and brought back to life in a new way.

Well, a lot of the buildings start off just ugly.

We walked up and it's just a hallway with all these small rooms.

And then once you completely rip everything out, including the drop ceilings and whatever's up there and you get to the bones of a building, you know, you have the brick and then you have these really cool beams that are, they're burgundy and they have this old paint on them from the markings and the construction and that have been there for, you know, over 100 years, you get a different sense of the space and, you know, cleaning it up so it's still old and it still has that character to it and then bringing in modern new elements that make it a functional space first of all and then just the balancing of the two I think creates a really cool environment.

I want more and more people to just become part of this community and feel it and just support each other.

Really understand that if you work together and that you do go that extra mile, that you can make real change.

(soft music) - Jim and Jen are certainly two vital leaders in the city of Sharon, leading the charge in revitalizing the downtown area as well as inspiring others to believe that positive change is possible.

Their love of the city and its people shine through everything they do, and the same is true for our next guest.

Alane Jewel is an entrepreneur specializing in social media management who also loves Sharon's strong sense of community.

She considers herself a storyteller.

The focus of these stories, small mom and pop shops in the Sharon community.

- My name's Alane Jewel and I'm an entrepreneur.

I think an entrepreneur means that you're able to see people for who they are and see what they want and be able to provide it.

Like I love providing a service to people that they're too busy to do themselves and I love it and it doesn't seem like work to me.

So it's like cake.

So in 2009 I was working for the newspaper in town, the Herald, and I did sales, then I moved up to be editor of their women's magazine and at the same time I started a little side hustle doing Twitter for a couple companies in Seattle.

It eventually ended up exceeding what I was making at the Herald and I felt like it was time to leap.

So it was super scary, but in 2012 I started my own business and now I love that I can work from anywhere.

I love to travel, I love to be on the go.

I love to make my own day.

I've worked for companies as big as AT&T.

I've run their AT&T shape program.

I was live tweeting while they were in Hollywood at Universal Studios.

Those are some of like my favorite clients I've worked with.

I just finished a project with a contract with Microsoft that lasted three years where I was doing their social media management.

I love that I've worked with large companies across the country, it doesn't matter where, but my really sweet spot is helping my small businesses here locally.

Locally, some of my favorite clients were helping Buhl Park with social media strategies, also helping HopeCAT get started on the West Hill with the social media strategy.

I've served on the board of the library and the Buhl Club also helping donate my time for better social media strategies.

I love what I do for a living because I get to focus on the small businesses, like the mom and pops.

I get to do the great storytelling to shine a light on this is a great restaurant because it's so-and-so grandma's recipes.

This is a great restaurant because the legacy has been here since the 30s.

I mean, I love the storytelling and what I do from a painter being an artist, I love great visuals with social media, but I love the writing and then everything that you're doing to retell someone's story for marketing.

I really do feel the work that I do benefits all businesses, whether they're a large scale business or a small base business because people do not have the time.

You don't have the time every day to tell one great story that happened.

Whether you're a restaurant, a business that has a service industry that you're fulfilling.

I really feel like that you tap me on the shoulder and say we got this going on.

Can you come down and take some photos?

Can you do a couple posts on this great coverage we're getting?

And I amplify what's already happening there.

I really feel like a female in business the greatest resource I have had are so many other business owners and talking to them and getting advice from them and some of them have a huge legacy.

They've been in business for decades.

Here I am, this is my first decade in business.

But I love pulling from the great community resources I have here to talk to other women in business and other leaders.

I think I define success when you can carve out some happiness for yourself.

When you can create something from your talents to say that I'm cool, I'm good, I did this, that's success to me.

I really feel like Sharon is like Mr. Roger's neighborhood.

Like, I feel like we know everybody.

We're all the people that are like wearing many different hats.

And so it's great to go out and get your ear to the ground about what's happening and what everybody else is doing.

If I had to write a post about Sharon, it's that we're all survivors and we're all so scrappy and we all roll up our sleeves and we get things done.

(soft music) - Alane said it best.

We're all so scrappy.

We all roll up our sleeves and get things done.

As you can probably tell by now, many residents of Sharon believe in their city.

Meet Tom Roberts, the Sharon entertainer.

- Hi, I'm Tom Roberts and I'm an entertainer.

I would define myself as an opportunistic entertainer.

Performing for me has been, since I was a very young kid growing up in grade school, I had opportunities in my elementary school and then performed with church musicals and things all through my entire life.

In high school I got involved with the marching band, became drum major of my high school, and then went on to Penn State University where I served as drum major there.

And really, I've just learned everything about the life lessons and leadership lessons I've learned through performing and a shared experience with people on stage, both marching band on the exterior stage and then the inside stage.

So I'm always looking for opportunities to learn from fellow performers.

A long time ago, one of my mentors said you're only worth what you give away but you can only give away what you have.

And I believe some of the things that I enjoyed doing and performing will bring joy to people's lives.

It allows me to connect with people in a real way.

I have a unique ability to connect with people and connect people to something bigger than themselves.

Our theater group started over 10 years ago in Sharpsville, PA, and then we recently relocated to Sharon.

We purchased the old church, the decommissioned Catholic church.

And what started as hey, let's start a community theater has now grown into building a performing arts center that'll be a place where not only local talent can perform but also regional and national acts can come and showcase their talents and be a beacon to come to town, bring people to town from a tourism and travel standpoint.

My theater life, one of the productions that we put on was "Man of La Mancha" which is the story of Don Quixote, and I had the opportunity to play that role.

One of the key songs from that is "Impossible Dream, to Dream the Impossible Dream."

And the central point of that show is it's maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it ought to be.

We embrace that.

Do you see an abandoned church or do you see a performing arts center?

To me it's a philosophy of life.

This community is resilient and close knit and the people that live here care about the community.

And it's also one of the most philanthropic, generous communities I've ever met.

I'm thrilled to live here, work here.

It's my honor to entertain them and bring them together in a unique way.

(soft music) - Tom's optimistic philosophy is one that is shared among countless others living in Sharon.

The philosophy that generosity, hard work and making community your focus will continue to make Sharon an even better place to live.

What character do you play for the betterment of the place you call home?

Can you find a way to inspire, innovate, and energize?

Are you city-centric?

That's all for now.

I hope you enjoyed Sharon Centric and will join me next time for another episode of City Centric.

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