3 Valley residents sue MetroParks over recent personnel dismissals

YOUNGSTOWN

A lawsuit filed today against the Mill Creek MetroParks leadership alleges that the park board and executive director violated Ohio Sunshine Laws on public meetings in its planning and implementation of a February staff restructuring that eliminated numerous park positions.

The complaint – filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Barbara Brothers of Youngstown, and Suzanne Anzellotti and her husband, Jim Ray, of Poland – asks the court, among other things, to declare the position eliminations unlawful and issue an injunction to restore those employees affected by the restructuring to their former positions.

The listed defendants are the MetroParks board; board members John Ragan, Robert Durick and Germaine Bennett; former board member Scott Schulick; and MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young.

Young was first made aware of the complaint when reached by The Vindicator today. He declined to comment until he had a chance to review the court filing. Ragan, board president, could not be reached.

Ray, Anzellotti and Brothers told The Vindicator they decided to sue the MetroParks leadership because they believe it’s wrong that planning for the internal reorganization plan was done without first being presented to the public.

Read the complete story in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.