Mill Creek management enjoying a period of calm

In contrast to last year’s demands for his termination, Aaron Young, executive director of Mill Creek MetroParks, is today riding a wave of approval. That’s good news for the metropolitan park system, which certainly needed a period of calm.

Early last year, Young ignited a firestorm of public criticism after he implemented a staff restructuring that resulted in the elimination of 13 positions. Among the employees terminated were several who had been with the park district for many years and were popular with supporters of the district.

The perceived heavy-handedness on Young’s part triggered the public outcry. To further muddy the waters, the executive director privately discussed the reorganization with the commissioners and then implemented it – without a public vote of the board.

The firestorm, including calls for Young’s termination, prompted Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert N. Rusu Jr. to use his statutory authority over the park district to calm the waters.

Rusu had to fill two vacancies on the board of commissioners, and the individuals he appointed reflected the judge’s belief in complete transparency in all aspects of the district’s operation. The new commissioners also supported Rusu’s idea for citizen involvement through the creation of citizens advisory committees.

Dr. Thomas Shipka, retired chairman of Youngstown State University’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Lee Frey, former mayor of Canfield, let it be known from the outset that they would not participate in a witch hunt, but were committed to reaching out to all the stakeholders and restoring the balance of power between the board of commissioners and the executive director.

Policy changes have been implemented, while the creation of seven standing committees has facilitated citizen participation in the park’s operation.

Building trust

Young appears to have risen to the challenge of changing the narrative and building trust with the commissioners.

The executive director, whose contract expires Dec. 31, 2019, was evaluated by three of the five members of the board on his job performance in 2016 and received generally good marks.

Shipka, Frey and Germaine Bennett judged him on the following categories: leadership; organizational knowledge; judgment; decision-making; accountability; initiative and creativity; customer service/customer focus; internal communication; integrity; teamwork; planning and organizing; directing and controlling; quality of work; safety; attendance; development plans.

The two commissioners who didn’t participate in the evaluation of Young were John Ragan and Thomas Frost, who was not on the board last year.

While Young has reason to feel good about the high marks he received for planning, internal communications with the staff, initiative and creativity, Shipka, Frey and Bennett were of one mind when it came to the executive director’s customer-service skills.

It’s not unusual for public officials in positions of authority to forget that they, in fact, work for the taxpayers and are, therefore, answerable to them.

As Frey wrote in his evaluation, Young must better explain his decisions to the public and help people understand how he arrived at those decisions.

The commissioner also suggested that the executive director “get out into the park and introduce himself to people and hear what they have to say.”

In other words, Young needs to improve his public-relations skills.

But while Young fared better than expected in the evaluations, Shipka is of the opinion that he needs to enlist the “aid and support of the board, the board’s seven standing committees, and the general public, including members of the Friends of Fellows Gardens and his critics.”

And, the commissioner wrote, “The reorganization in February 2016 alienated many taxpayers and traditional MCMP supporters; the executive director needs to work steadily and conscientiously to regain their support of MCMP and their trust in his leadership.”

To be sure, there are Valley residents who are still angry about the termination of the 13 employees and, therefore, will never be satisfied until Young is gone.

However, buying him out of his contract would be a costly proposition.

Therefore, the job performance evaluations should guide anyone interested in judging how Young is addressing the shortcomings in his leadership highlighted by Shipka, Frey and Bennett.