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Prosecutor named to park board
The city prosecutor was one of 14 applicants for the board seat.
YOUNGSTOWN — Jay Macejko, city prosecutor, has been appointed to a three-year term on the three-member Mill Creek MetroParks board of commissioners.
Macejko, a lifelong Mahoning County resident, lives near Mill Creek Park on the city’s West Side. Probate Judge Mark Belinky appointed Macejko, effective Jan. 1.
Macejko replaces Rick Shale, a Youngstown State University English professor, who was appointed in March 2005 to complete an unexpired park board term. Shale, who lives in Boardman, was then appointed to a full term that began in January 2006 and expired Dec. 31.
“The appointment of a new commissioner should not be construed in any manner as a reflection on your work as commissioner, which was considerable and greatly appreciated,” Judge Belinky told Shale in a Dec. 29 letter announcing that Macejko would replace him on the board.
Shale and Macejko were among 14 applicants for the board seat. “A number of qualified individuals sought the appointment,” the judge said in a news release issued late Friday afternoon.
That level of interest “is a strong indication that the community is concerned about the future of the park district,” added the judge, who could not be reached to further comment.
“I’m very disappointed. I thought I had done a good job,” Shale said. He added that he assumes the judge replaced him in an effort to achieve the judge’s announced goal of expanding the board from three to five members.
Judge Belinky said publicly last year that he favored board expansion to achieve broader representation in governance of the countywide park district.
The three park commissioners, however, unanimously concluded it would not be in the best interest of the park district to expand the board. “We represent the whole county,” Shale said, adding that he believes the park commissioners are not supposed to represent any particular community within the county.
The judge asked all 14 applicants on an application form whether they supported expanding the park board from three to five members. Eleven applicants, including Macejko, said yes; two, including Shale, said no; and one said “only if it’s beneficial to the park,” Shale noted.
Despite his not being reappointed, Shale said he would continue to participate in naturalist-led hikes and as a volunteer assistant on naturalist-led kayak trips on park lakes.
Shale, who is generally in the park daily, said he would continue to promote the park actively and to support its governing board, including Macejko.
M. Virginia Dailey, who was reappointed a year ago, and Carl Nunziato, whose term expires a year from now, continue on the park board. Both live in Boardman.
Judge Belinky, who was elected last fall to a six-year term as probate judge, is the appointing authority for all board seats. All three board members serve three-year terms, whose expirations are staggered at one-year intervals.
Macejko could not be reached to comment.
milliken@vindy.com