Organizers of Lancaster Pa.'s Weed and Seed program had specific ideas in mind to improve the South Duke Street area before an official revitalization plan came together.

While those ideas for housing, business development and safety were not abandoned, they were put on the back burner when residents came up with a priority that officials had not considered: Roberto Clemente Park.

The Duke Street area has a large Latino population, which ran an adults-only baseball league at the park, said Tom Hyson, deputy director of Pennsylvania Weed and Seed and an organizer of Lancaster's Weed and Seed effort.

The league held games seven days a week, and frequently chased off children who played there. Neighbors said the baseball games attracted rowdiness, noise, drinking, illegal behavior, fighting and littering.

"The residents didn't want this," Hyson told local anti-drug coalition Endorse Resistance of All Substance Abuse Every where.

The group, whose interest in Weed and Seed spurred Sharon and Farrell to secure a grant to revitalize parts of their cities, heard Monday from Hyson, a Church of God in Christ minister and former state trooper.

While residents wanted the park to be destroyed, Weed and Seed organizers were able to supplant the adult league and come up with a plan to improve the park for use by all members of the community, from children to senior citizens.

The experience was an eye-opener for Hyson, who was born and raised on Duke Street.

"I thought I knew everything about this street," he said. "Everyone doesn't think like me."

Hyson used the story of Clemente Park to show that despite the best efforts of planners, their plans will mean nothing -- and won't work -- if residents don't back them.

Weed and Seed organizers must reach residents by showing them that they care, that resident input makes a difference in plans, and that they genuinely want to improve the lives of residents, said Hyson, a former Lancaster School Board member.

"Your city is only as good as the people who live there," said Hyson. "You have to convince the people here that it's worthwhile to be here."

Organizers must be creative to get residents involved, Hyson said, acknowledging that Lancaster had a hard time attracting resident input at first. Organizers will convince residents by treating them well, not by the plan that ultimately is agreed upon.

"It's not just what you want to do, it's how you do it," Hyson said. "The process is more important than the plan, or anything," he said.

Hyson said the solutions to Duke Street's problems already existed in the community. He discouraged creating new nonprofit agencies to address problems, arguing that the ones already serving the area can probably do the job.

"This is a community-driven process," Hyson said. "You have the answers right here. It's a matter of identifying who's doing what and maybe modifying things a little bit."

ERASE and the Weed and Seed Target Area Local Leaders team will hold a community meeting for residents to learn about what they have been doing, express opinions and gives ideas at 6 p.m. April 1 at the ERASE office, 901 Fruit Ave., Farrell.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharon-herald.com