1.  Clean up litter on streets and in medians. Strictlyenforce yard care requirements. Draft a tougher zoning code,get it passed, and hire enough citizens patrol to enforce it (note that I'm notsaying "Police" - you'd want cheaper people with less power to do thejob). Look to Huber Heights and their"Yellow Signs" program as an example.
Tony, the mowing crews do a great job picking upthe litter in all the areas that they mow and the yard care waste and furnitureis now being pick up by Rumke. City Hall needs to clean up the property that theyown.
We do NOT need tougher zoning codes we just need to enforce the ones that wehave in place.

2.  Acquire vacant retail/commercial properties and starta pop-up shops program like this one instead of demolishing them:http://www.activatedspaces.org/

NO! City Hall does nothave the money to purchase any more property. City Hall already owns far toomany properties and all of them need to be turned over to local real estateagents to sell. Contact information needs to be placed in the window of eachand every empty building that the city owns.
City Hall also needs to learn how to write a contract for the properties thatthey do own

Because the contract that they have written on the otherdowntown building were a joke imo.

3. Build a easy to use but thoroughand intuitive website that states exactly what businesses, services, amenities,etc. Middletownhas within its borders. Do this by hiring an intern to contactevery business in the city of Middletownand ask for a write-up on their services. Hire another intern to sort out allthese services and create a basic website layout. Hire a third intern to buildthe website, and then have your city's IT department review it. Then askcommunity members to test it to ensure the site is intuitive to use and have aSEO consultant ensure it gets good search results. Then distribute tocorporations and residents. It's all about getting people to know exactlywhat's in their own backyard so they will start using it!!

The end result should belike this: http://www.downtowndayton.org/
Tony after the Forbes article labeled Middletown, City Hallspent some big bucks to rebrand the community. They also joined Main Street USA and started“Downtown Middletown Inc.” It is my understanding that the ED and DMI have websites to promote

the current development plans.

4.  Ask UC, Miami, OSUetc. architecture, planning, and engineering departments to have a class comeinvestigate Middletownand its public spaces. Then allow them to propose solutionsthat foster connectivity within Middletown,and if possible and within budget, implement these plans. 
I believe MiamiStudents did help City Hall with their last 5 years Master Plan however their mainfocus was on the Downtown Area. Mr. Adkins hired UC to do a study concerning theSection 8 Program and imo it proved we needed more low income housing not less…andthat’s when he declared all of Middletown “SlumvilleUSA”.

5. HireStrategyWorks! at Miami University or a similar program to do targetedmarketing campaigns to recruiting 1) new businesses, 2) new residents.Once done, distribute marketing material free to Middletown residents and industrial buildingowners on a yearly basis so they can offer it when selling their homes. Alsodistribute to all Butler, Warren and Montgomery county residents if possible to help put Middletown on their radarfor moving there in the future or expanding their business.

Tony, I believe they did a study however I do not know whatthe ED is doing to recruit new businesses so I will have to pass on this one.

6. Get more tax revenue byincreasing taxes on land zoned heavy industrial, if possible.Make this tax rate the highest in the state. You have a cash cow with AK, somilk it for what it's worth. They aren't going to China anytime soon. And even if theydo, so what? The land would be far better served as an airport or for lightindustrial / distribution center use. And the detriment AK's presence provides Middletown every day isenough to justify the tax increases

February 8, 1911Wednesday    MiddletownNews-Signal, Middletown, Ohio
THE PAVING OF BROADWAY
  Well,well Broadway will surely be paved. Robert Jones has just finished securing thenames of abutting property holders of Broadway asking for the street to bepaved and we have another Mr. B. F. Harwitz who is out asking for Broadway tobe paved with asphalt. The signers to the second petition were being securedtoday.

February 10, 1911 Friday    Middletown News-Signal, Middletown, Ohio
BROADWAY
What Will Be The Paving Material
 The paving of Broadway is now under consideration. The situation is much as it wason Main streetand Yankee road about the time these streets were to be paved. Some of thepeople were fooled as to material. Particularly was this the case on Yankeeroad which was saved from being paved with brick just in the nick of time. Abrick street is noisy, filthy, and always look ugly by comparison with anasphalt street. The nice homes on Broadway, and they are almost all beautiful,should jealously guard the  immediate environment. To put a brick streetwould cause them to regret it as long as they lived.
  Propertystands out clean and clear with a white street like Yankee road, free from theodor that emanates from the filth that settles between bricks and from thenoise that is a source of annoyance day and night and especially in the summerwhen houses are open.
  It isprobable that it is now too late to save the street from what it is said thecouncil intends to do to it. True, brick is cheaper, but the difference is notgreat enough to prevent asphalt being adopted in preference to the coarsermaterial.
  Woodblock isfine, but it is an experiment and may swell and rear up and push even thesidewalks into the cellar.
  But asphaltis the material for paving and should be adopted.
  It is saidthat a petition is now being circulated for asphalt or wood block, but tonightthe council will say what material will be placed on the street. 

February 13,1911  Monday    Middletown News-Signal, Middletown, Ohio
MORE ASPHALT
Wanted By The People Living On Good Streets In This City

  Lakeside people are waking up to the fact, that,possessed of one of the most beautiful drives in the city of Middletown, Tytusavenue should not be marred by inferior paving material and will make theirdesires known, to the council committee, having the question in charge.
 The little difference between the cost of asphalt and brick, the superiority ofthe former over the latter, in its appearance, its cleanliness, and from asanitary standpoint, as well as its effect on the value of abutting property,gives it a preference far above any other material.
 A streetpaved with brick is always considered secondary to asphalt street. It gives ita cheap appearance and effects the value of the property, and the owners do agreat injustice to themselves when with beautiful homes on which they arespending their labor and money to  give them a fine appearance, theypermit the laying of an inferior street to mar the comfort and value of theirproperty.
 The people of Lakeside appreciate this factand are preparing to present their claims for the better material to thecouncil. The facts are that Main street and Broad street should be paved with asphaltthroughout.

October 23, 1911  Monday    Middletown News-Signal, Middletown, Ohio
THE WHITE WAY
New Cluster Lights Up In Front Of Bundy Block More Of Same Lights To GoUp
  East Third street with its pretty white way was surelythe attraction, and the way the people paraded the well lighted thoroughfareshowed that the white way is appreciated. Dr. D. B. Bundy had two of thesplendid cluster lights burning in front of the Bundy block and the dazzlinglights in front of the Bijon picture theater in the Bundy block, the street wasbeautifully illuminated, a credit to the east end and a strong drawing card forthe business in that well lighted section. 
 W. S. Harlan was out at the white way. He was so well pleased with the newlight in front of the Bundy block that he has decided to put three of thecluster lights in front of the Harlan block.
 Ed Stutz, the big boss of the white way says the place is so full of light outhis way that the old rooster crows every fifteen minutes now during the night.Ed says when he used to hear the clarion note of this old Plymouth Rock,he  used to get out of bed and go down into the milk pitcher to meet themilk man and he never missed. Now since the old boy has been