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Number seeking park seats cut to 10
Park-board members serve without compensation.
YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Mark Belinky of Mahoning County Probate Court and his staff have reduced the 45 applicants for two new Mill Creek MetroParks board seats to 10 finalists, the judge said Tuesday.
Judge Belinky said he expects to make appointments to those seats next week.
Saying the list of finalists is still somewhat tentative, Judge Belinky declined to identify the 10 frontrunners.
“Their passion for the park has to come through,” the judge said of successful candidates. “I’m looking for somebody with business experience,” he added.
The judge said the business background is needed because the park district is a $13 million-a-year operation and must soon hire a new executive director to replace David Imbrogno, who resigned this year. The board is also responsible for labor negotiations, the judge added.
“This is one of the consistent jewels of the community,” Judge Belinky said of the park system. “We want to make sure that we secure the future of the park.”
“I’m looking for people with practical experience — people who can handle employment situations and make good, solid decisions and be mindful of the taxpayers,” the judge said.
The judge urged the park board to expand from three to five members to diversify the geographical representation of Mahoning County residents on the board, and the park board decided in October to approve that expansion.
The applicants for the new board seats range in age from their 20s to their 80s, the judge said.
The park board members receive no salary, said Luann James, executive assistant at the probate court.
They also get no compensation for attending meetings, said Tom Bresko, interim park director. However, Bresko said park board members get expense reimbursements on the rare occasions when they attend out-of-town conferences.
Bresko said the park board has not advertised the permanent park-directorship job or set an application deadline, nor has it begun the selection process for Imbrogno’s replacement. Bresko said the new members will be on the board before the new director is hired.
Bresko said he does not intend to apply to be the permanent park director, but he’s willing to stay as interim director as long as it takes to find a permanent director.