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New Mill Creek commissioners take oath of office
YOUNGSTOWN
As two Mill Creek MetroParks Board of Park Commissioners start new terms, another is leaving.
Judge Robert Rusu Jr. of Mahoning County Probate Court, the appointing authority for the five-member board, swore in John Ragan of Canfield and Scott Schulick of Youngstown to board positions at a meeting Monday night.
He also announced that Valencia Marrow, who was appointed to the board in December 2010, is leaving her board position, effective immediately. Marrow, of Youngstown and clerk of Youngstown City Council, cited personal reasons for her resignation, Judge Rusu said. He plans to appoint someone to take her place by the end of the month, he said.
Schulick is new to the board, as he replaced Jay Macejko after the judge opted not to re-appoint Macejko when his term expired in December. Rusu re-appointed Ragan, who has been on the board since 2010.
Both appointments are for three-year terms that began Jan. 1 and run through the end of 2017. Board members are volunteers. The other board members are Lou Schiavoni and Dr. Robert J. Durick.
“We need to promote [the park system]; we need to keep it in good hands for the future,” Judge Rusu said during the swearing-in ceremony. “I have children, I have grandchildren. I want to see this park there for them, and for many other generations.”
In an interview, Judge Rusu said he sees this as a time of change for the park system.
“I just think it was time,” Judge Rusu said of his decision to change the board’s makeup. “Things go along for awhile. ... Whether it was founded or unfounded, I think public confidence was shaken.”
The board recently came under scrutiny from the public when it failed to follow the state’s open-meetings laws in its decision to hire Aaron Young as executive director last month. The board later rescinded its decision, apologized to the public and then re-voted to hire Young at a public meeting.
Judge Rusu said he chose Schulick because of his extensive public-board experience and because he is known in the community for his philanthropic endeavors. Most recently, Schulick was chairman of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees, where he served as a board member from 2004 to 2013.
The meeting also was the first for Young, who replaced Dennis Miller at the start of the year.