As the city of Youngstown searches for solutions to the ongoing crisis at SOBE Thermal Energy Systems, it might find some answers 50 miles west.
“We narrowed down the scope and the area and brought in a new operator who really turned things around, and it really saved the system,” said Don Plusquellic, former mayor of Akron, in a recent interview with 21 News.
In the mid-2000s, Akron’s city-owned steam heat system was a struggling liability, but it has since transformed into a reliable and efficient utility for downtown customers. 21 News spoke with Plusquellic, who led the city from 1987 to 2015, to see how Youngstown leaders might learn from that experience…