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Changes to come to Mill Creek MetroParks board
YOUNGSTOWN
The makeup of the Mill Creek MetroParks Board of Commissioners soon will change, The Vindicator has learned from the board’s appointing authority.
The public can expect changes to the board, Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert Rusu Jr. said Friday, but he would not say whether the change would be to one or both positions whose terms are ending.
Commissioners Jay Macejko and John Ragan are up for reappointment to three-year terms to the five-person board because their terms expire at year’s end.
Rusu is considering “their background, if they’ve had any previous board experience, whether they are familiar with the park and whether they live in Mahoning County,” while deciding between candidates, he said. He received a few applications, he said.
Macejko, former city prosecutor, has been on the board since 2009, when he was appointed by Mark Belinky, former Mahoning County Probate Court judge who resigned from the bench earlier this year.
Ragan has been on the board since 2010, after Belinky expanded the board from three to five members and appointed Ragan and Dr. Robert Durick to the new seats. Other board members are Valencia Marrow and board president Lou Schiavoni.
The park district board recently received some public criticism after questions arose over its decision to hire Aaron Young to be the park system’s executive director.
The press and the public raised questions about whether the board followed state law in its hiring process after it announced its decision to hire Young at a public meeting Dec. 15. An attorney for The Vindicator said the board failed to adhere to Ohio Sunshine Laws because the decision was not made, but only confirmed, in public. Board members disputed that claim. The board rescinded its action to hire Young, apologized to the public and revoted to hire him at a public meeting.
Rusu said he will make an announcement about appointments Monday.