Parks board won’t expand

By Denise Dick

YOUNGSTOWN — Mill Creek MetroParks commissioners believe the way to increase community input is through advisory committees and task groups rather than adding two new commissioners.

Judge Mark Belinky of Mahoning County Probate Court proposed in April that the park panel expand from three to five members, with at least one of the two new members coming from the city.

The park system is funded by a countywide real estate tax levy, but all three sitting commissioners live in Boardman.

“It’s a matter of fundamental fairness. When you have a county that pays the tax countywide, you should have as much representation from around the county as possible,” the judge said Tuesday.

“People don’t like to be taxed without some representation, and to have only three board members representing the whole county, to me, didn’t seem sufficient.”

Judge Belinky said it also would be helpful to have more people to handle the park district’s $13 million annual operating budget.

Although the judge appoints the park board members, the decision to expand the board to the five-member maximum permitted by state law is up to the park commissioners.

In a July 9 letter to the judge, park commissioners Virginia Dailey, Carl Nunziato and Rick Shale said the district researched the judge’s proposal, speaking to representatives of other park districts across Ohio.

“We agree with your suggestions to increase community representation and input,” the letter said. “We respectfully suggest that the best way to achieve this is through proactive, action-oriented advisory committees and task groups such as the People for MetroParks and the Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens.”

The letter said commissioners invite the judge’s suggestions “for people who are willing not only to serve on such groups but to become actively involved.” Judge Belinky, who scheduled a news conference today to respond to the park board’s letter, said such use of advisory bodies “may have merit.”

But, in contrast, the judge said the two members he proposes adding to the park board would have voting authority concerning board decisions. He said he has no specific people in mind as prospective appointees for the new board positions he proposes.

In a news release he prepared for the news conference, Judge Belinky expressed confidence in the park board and its employees, but said he was “very disappointed” in the board’s decision not to expand and that he hopes the board will revisit this issue soon.

Shale said he hopes the judge realizes the park commissioners share his best interest for the park, and that is the basis for their decision.

Although the commissioners live in Boardman, they make decisions about facilities that need improvements based on the park system as a whole, not geography, Shale said.

David Imbrogno, park executive director, said park personnel spoke with representatives of other park districts and found that most of those that expanded from three to five members were small.

The park surveyed 30 metroparks systems in Ohio, only five of which are operating with five commissioners. Most of those are small with Stark County MetroParks — with a $5.1 million budget and 6,000 acres — the exception, the letter to the judge said.

Mill Creek MetroParks owns or leases 4,270 acres and has 478 acres in conservation easements. Trumbull County MetroParks, which has five commissioners, has a $75,000 annual budget and 800 acres, while Columbiana County’s park district has three commissioners with 400 acres and a $45,000 annual budget.

All the larger park districts surveyed by Mill Creek considered moving to five commissioners. “All have decided against the change,” the letter said.