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Mill Creek shake-up prompts calls to repeal MetroParks levy
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning County Board of Elections has been inundated with calls this week from area residents inquiring about a repeal of the Mill Creek MetroParks levy that was approved at the polls last fall, officials said.
“We don’t often see that. ... It’s usually, ‘Where do I go to vote? How do I register?’ This is a new one for us,” said Joyce Kale-Pesta, board of elections director.
She estimated that her office has received between 80 and 100 calls so far this week on that issue.
Leading the push for a repeal of the 15-year renewal levy with additional millage for capital improvements are Judy and Chris Peyko. The couple said the effort is a response to the recent dismissals of several park staffers.
Last Friday, eight park staffers – including several veteran employees such as horticulture director Keith Kaiser and outdoor education manager Ray Novotny – were summarily dismissed while park police officers were made to stand by, a scene that a Vindicator reporter and photographer saw firsthand. Mill Creek MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young said in an interview that the dismissals were part of an “internal reorganization” plan that included 15 job eliminations.
The park says the restructuring will save $13 million over 15 years, which will “significantly reduce the anticipated $15 million capital improvement shortfall that was projected over that same time period,” according to a park system release.
Of those who were dismissed last Friday, five were offered other park positions and three were offered severance packages, Young said.
Hundreds of comments posted on social media and Vindy.com since then reflect some community members’ outrage and disappointment over those dismissals and how they were handled.
The Peykos say they do not want to hurt the park but hope that an effort to repeal the tax levy will lead to reinstatement of those who lost their jobs and Young’s ouster.
“We feel if we can start the efforts to repeal the levy, we’ll have a little more leverage to get changes in the park,” Judy said.
“We’re very disappointed in the way the board has allowed Mr. Young to operate the park. We feel he’s dismantling all the good things about the park, and just the handling of the terminations after we voted for the levy – there’s no faith in his leadership,” she said.
The Peykos are consulting with groups that specialize in helping citizens take such action; the next step would be to draft a petition and get the required number of signatures to get it on the ballot.
The petition would need upward of 6,000 signatures from registered Mahoning County voters, Peyko said she has learned. That figure is based on a percentage of the number of people who voted in the last gubernatorial election.
The board of elections would review the petition and verify the signatures; if it cleared those steps, it then would be put on the ballot for voters to decide.
Kale-Pesta said tax repeals are not common; the last one in the county was about 15 years ago, she recalled, when voters approved a referendum to overturn a sales tax.
Asked whether the effort is a concern for him, Young said: “I think the concern for me, and for the parks in general, is that people are passionate about their parks, and when you make decisions that are unpopular, people are going to be critical of it – and they have that right.
“I don’t feel that everyone who has been critical of our decision speaks for everyone in the community,” he said. “They’re speaking for themselves.”
In addition to chatter about a tax repeal, community members have been circulating a change.org petition on social media that calls for the “resignation or removal” of Young as park director. That online petition had 350 signatures as of Thursday.
As for the calls for his resignation, Young said: “I have no interest in resigning. I fully enjoy the ability to serve the public in this role. I’m committed to the long-term success of the MetroParks.”