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Mill Creek MetroParks board welcomes new member
CANFIELD
The Mill Creek MetroParks Board of Park Commissioners welcomed a new member Monday.
Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert N. Rusu Jr. swore in Thomas M. Frost of North Jackson to a term that runs through the end of 2019. Frost also serves as a Jackson Township trustee, and as a trustee on the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County’s board.
“My goal on this board, No. 1, is to help lead the board and help lead the park to continued success,” said Frost. “I am a facts person. I am a numbers person. Before I commit myself, before I commit my vote, I will know the facts.”
Frost also brings to the board the experience he gained during a career at the U.S. Postal Service. Frost once served as chairman of the National Letter Carriers’ Association’s national finance committee, which oversaw a $15 million budget, according to the judge’s office.
In other business, the board approved a request from planning and operations Director Steve Avery to seek a permit from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for nest destruction. The permit will allow the MetroParks to addle the eggs of Canada geese (a process in which embryos are terminated before the eggs are placed back in their nest) as part of the park district’s goose management program. A recent policy change by the park board requires that any actions disrupting wildlife must first be approved by the board.
The park employs a range of goose management techniques, from educating the public about not feeding the wildlife, to altering the birds’ habitats, to “harassing” them with techniques such as shining lasers at them.
Avery said the MetroParks has used “aggressive” management tactics since 2010 in response to an overpopulation trend. He noted, for example, that the park addled 40 goose eggs in 2010, compared with 366 eggs last year.
“Even with all those methods we’re doing, it’s still a challenge to stay on top of this exploding population,” he said.
The park will contract out the egg addling to a U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife service.
In other business, the board approved a $80,079.50 bid from Daniel A Terreri & Sons, Inc. of Youngstown for construction of a wet playground at the James L. Wick Jr. Recreation Area.
Also, the board awarded a contract, at a cost of $99,567.70, to Penn-Ohio Sealing Co. of Lowellville for improvements to the tennis and basketball courts at Volney Rogers Field. New asphalt will be applied to the courts, then an acrylic playing surface will be added.
Both projects are slated to be complete in June. They are part of $3.2 million in capital improvements planned at the MetroParks in 2017, the start of a 15-year, $29 million capital-improvements program.