Metroparks board establishes seven advisory committees

December 5, 2016 at 9:07p.m.

After approving a structure that sets up new board advisory committees, the Mill Creek MetroParks board is tasked with finalizing the 49 people who will serve on those committees.

At a special meeting Monday night that was called to set the committee structure and review applicants, the five-member board unanimously approved a motion that establishes seven committees with a maximum of seven members each. Those committees will advise the board on finance, development, wildlife, nature education, environment, horticulture, and community engagement.

The board opinion on how best to go about selecting committee members was not unanimous. The board entered executive session after OK’ing a motion, approved 4-1 with board President John Ragan opposed, that stipulated each board member submit four recommendations for each committee, with one designated as their top pick.

The motion further mandated that Ragan appoint the other board members’ top picks, and limit the remaining appointments to the other recommended candidates.

The board later came out of executive session and amended the procedure, however, to give Ragan more of a say in the selection process. The amended motion, which was approved 4-1 with board member Tom Shipka casting the dissenting vote, allows Ragan to fill spots from the entire pool of approximately 90 candidates, rather than sticking only to his colleagues’ recommendations. He must still appoint their top picks for each committee.

“We had agreed on the procedure as far back as July, and we confirmed the basic procedure in a motion prior to the executive session. I didn’t see any significant reason to depart from the plan that was in place,” said Shipka. “But let’s put this in perspective: For the first time we’ve got standing committees, mainly members of the community, some of whom have been vocal critics [of park leaders], and I think in the long run this will serve the community well.”