Ever since Lou Mucci, Mary Ruth Shumway and Brian Johnston approved a new set of bylaws in July, a grassroots group of individuals has been rallying to respond to actions they believe threaten to cause irreparable harm to Geauga Park District.
Ever since Lou Mucci, Mary Ruth Shumway and Brian Johnston approved a new set of bylaws in July, a grassroots group of individuals has been rallying to respond to actions they believe threaten to cause irreparable harm to Geauga Park District.
The three appointed park commissioners took steps last Tuesday, however, to regain the trust of that group and reaffirm adherence to the park district’s core mission: preserve, protect and conserve.
But the board refused to give everything the Protect Geauga Parks group wanted; namely, a return to the bylaws as they existed on June 1, “before people with five month’s experience, people with two week’s experience, took Judge Grendell’s direction and did what the judge wanted them to do,” said Ed Buckles, one of the group’s de facto leaders.
One change to the bylaws at issue concerned Article XXI, which gave the park board permission to allow specified “recreational activities,” including the use of ATVs and dirt bikes, excavation and construction, trapping, trap shooting, logging and oil and gas drilling.
“The list of activities, as was read last time, is gone,” Johnston said, referring to a July 9 board meeting at which the changes were first announced to the public.
Johnston — who is running for county commissioner in November — then introduced a proposed change to Article XXI.
“And the only thing that’s going to be on that that was on there before is the word ‘activities,’” he said.
The proposed new language states:
“Consistent with the purpose set forth in Article I, park activities, including preservation, conservation and approved outdoor recreation, will include and may be conducted on park land pursuant to the provisions of the Ohio Revised Code section 1545.09 and 1545.11, and subject to the rules and regulations as amended from time to time by the park board.”
The change cannot not be voted on until the Oct. 14 board meeting in accordance with board policy, Johnston added..
Johnston also said he would not be adverse to creating an ad hoc committee comprised of environmentalists and sportsmen to discuss proposed changes, or activities or recreation in the parks.
‘Hardly an Elite Few’
But Buckles said he “disagreed wholeheartedly” the proposed change was adequate.
“The opening paragraph of the bylaws used to have language in it that said no activities would be considered in the park that were not consistent with conserve, protect, preserve,” he said during the 45 minutes allotted for public comment at the Sept. 9 meeting. “Those are critical issues to us and that language needs to be back in those bylaws.”
Buckles, a retired lawyer, referenced Ohio Revised Code section 1545.09(A), which provides bylaws should be set up for the preservation of good order, protection and preservation of parks and the natural life therein.
“That’s exactly what we’re talking about,” he said. “That sort of language needs to be reflected in the mission statement.”
Buckles also told the board he was “deeply, deeply concerned” about an apparent “political undercurrent” in the county for moving public tax support for the park district, for rejecting grants from government agencies, for not cooperating with other conservation groups and for not accepting private donations that have conservation strings attached.
“Do you as individuals or as a board adhere to that philosophy and how do you envision park financial support being generated?” he asked.
Mucci said the park district welcomes cooperation with all conservation groups, adding park staff had a “deep reservoir” of relationships with conservation and preservation groups.
“Grant money is out there,” he said. “Absolutely we’ll accept the grant money.”
Mucci also said the park district would welcome any private contributions and would honor the intent of the donors.
South Russell resident Katherine Malmquist said Geauga’s parks offer the “needed, peaceful, natural settings for quiet and leisure time” that cannot be found anywhere else.
“I know we can find ballparks, we can find private land for hunting, private land for snowmobiles elsewhere in this county,” she said. “But it’s almost impossible for any resident, anywhere, to find the natural settings that we have currently in … our park system.”
Malmquist said walking, hiking, bird watching and sitting by a pond are “inclusive” activities in which everyone can participate, while the proposed recreational activities are exclusive because not everybody can do or afford to do those things.
“I want the parks to come back to what they were, conserve, preserve and protect,” she said. “Natural areas that everybody can enjoy.”
Munson Township resident Debbi Mayo presented the results of a three-week petition drive that requested park commissioners to revoke the bylaws changes approved in July.
“We’ve gathered in three weeks 2,438 signatures in support of completely revoking the bylaws,” she told Mucci, Shumway and Johnston, adding the number presently exceeded 2,500. “Once again, the public has overwhelmingly supported preservation and conservation of their Geauga County parks.”
The signatories are parents and families, educators, scientists, elderly, young people, birdwatchers, trail hikers, horse riders, people who like to fish and “people who like holding hands in the park,” she said.
“They’re all walks of life who support the parks and who want the preservation of nature,” Mayo explained.
Other people who have signed petitions are ATV riders, hunters, trap shooters and “self-proclaimed Frack On people.”
“They recognize there are more appropriate places to carry on their activities,” Mayo said. “And they recognize the park lands main purpose is as conservation land.”
In addition, Mayo said they spoken with people who enjoy soccer, softball and snowmobiling. “They recognize and feel accountable to the crucial role our preserved lands play in clean air and water.”
Added Mayo, “That’s hardly an elite few.”
Middlefield Village resident Patrick Robinson said while 2,500 signatures was significant, he disagreed it wasn’t the “elite few.”
“If you want more than 2,500 signatures, I will have them here in within seven days, from people who would counter balance the elite few who typically fill this room,” Robinson said.
He also took exception to any suggestion that adding more outdoor recreational activities is exclusionary because not everybody can participate.
“Well, if I don’t like your activities, you’re excluding mine,” Robinson said. “So, the definition of protect or preserve and conserve, and connect has to be defined, because until it is defined then it’s everybody’s individual definition.”
He explained he agreed with and enjoys many of the activities Protect Geauga Parks is for, but said he enjoys more than just the activities the parks currently offer.
“So, I would like to see some of those things that could fit into preservation and conservation. The problem is not everybody is going to agree with my level of conservation,” he said.
Robinson thanked the board for its hard work and said things were headed in the right direction, before taking his seat.
Erik Gerard, president of the Hemlock Hills Homeowners’ Association in Russell, said just because verbiage had been removed from the bylaws regarding oil and gas drilling it did not mean the intent was gone.
Mucci thanked Gerard for raising the question and said it was one of the most “misconstrued” issues.
“There never was any intention to do any type of oil and gas drilling in the park district, “ Mucci said.
“It’s what you do not what you say that’s important,” said John Augustine, a Parkman Township resident.
He said people who vote for park levies expect that money to be used to protect natural areas.
Mucci said the park district’s “planning staff” is looking at properties and resource management personnel have been sent out to assess some.
“But one thing that I can absolutely guarantee you is we’re not going to spend as recklessly as we did in the past,” he added.
‘Not Going Back’
Mucci said the vast majority of the bylaws changes concerned internal procedures that “relegated the board to a rubber-stamp board.”
“Those changes are not going back,” he said. “Period.”
The executive director will be accountable to the board and the board will be accountable to the taxpayers, added Mucci.
He reiterated in the recent past things “got out of control and we needed to pull the reins back.”
But while many people at the Sept. 9 meeting were supportive of those other changes, a number of people continued to express distrust of the board and the influence Geauga County Probate Court Judge Tim Grendell wields over the park district.
“I’m sure that a lot of the things that you were talking about changing are valid, and we can see those changes implemented,” Russell Township resident Susan Festa said, thanking the board for saving taxpayer money. “But now it seems like the pendulum has shifted to where the board makes all the decisions, the director and his staff don’t.”
Augustine questioned Grendell’s authority to speak for the park district. He said the judge has the power to appoint park district commissioners, but had no authority to propose suspending collection of a 0.7-mill park levy passed in 1986, as he did at the Aug. 12 hearing before the Geauga County Budget Commission.
“Unless you folks give him the authority,” said Augustine. “I don’t recall any meeting where you gave him the authority to do that.”
Augustine also referenced an Aug. 25 budget commission hearing at which interim Director John Oros presented a revised budget that had not been approved or adopted at any board meeting.
Mucci responded staff routinely attends budget commission hearings, not board members.
He also said park commissioners passed a budget in July and that is what was presented to the budget commission.
“The only thing that changed was how much money they were giving us,” Mucci said. “So let’s just move past that.”
He added, “The board did not request that the levy get suspended.”
However, Oros did, in fact, present a revised budget to the commission that proposed non-collection of the 1986 levy for six months.
According to email records the Maple Leaf obtained through a public records request, on Aug. 22, Oros emailed Shumway and asked if he should have park district CFO Michele Pennell prepare a budget showing a one-year non-collection of the levy.
“I need to know ASAP given we are scheduled to meet with the budget commission on Monday (Aug. 25) at 3 p.m.,” Oros said.
Less than two hours later, Shumway replied to Oros stating, “we will suspend the 0.7-mill 1986 levy for six months.”
When the budget commission raised issues with the budget Oros presented, the interim director said he did not disagree with the commission’s assessment, but added he was submitting and presenting what his board had approved.
Buckles then asked Oros at the Aug.25 meeting when the park commissioners approved the revised budget.
“I don’t recall. I’ll have to let you know,” Oros replied.
Geauga County Treasurer Chris Hitchcock — one of three budget commission members — then asked Oros, “It’s your testimony this is a bona fide, approved budget by the park commissioners?”
Answered Oros, “That’s correct.”
Watch Board, Watch Judge
Prior to the 5:30 p.m. board meeting, Protect Geauga Parks held a press conference in the amphitheater adjacent to the park district’s Donald W. Meyer Center in Chardon Township. More than 50 people showed up wearing “Preserve Conserve Protect” T-shirts and waving similar signs.
Buckles highlighted unique features of the park system, including being the headwaters of three major rivers and having the only dark-sky park — Observatory Park in Montville Township — east of the Mississippi.
“We have a lot to be proud of here and we shouldn’t let Judge Grendell or an inexperienced park board destroy what we’ve got,” Buckles said. “We’ve got to stand up.”
He also told the group the battle would not end that night, regardless of what action the board took.
“Nobody says that things have to be the same, as they always have been,” Buckles said. “But they have to be changed in a reasonable, logical, thoughtful manner; not just randomly and sprung on us.”
Buckles also said the group had questions it wanted to ask park commissioners, many of which concerned budget, finance, bylaws and project issues.
Mayo interjected that many group members wanted to make clear they were unwilling to change the park district’s core mission of “preserve, conserve and protect.”
“I don’t see any reason just because Judge Grendell has decided that he has a vision he wants to impose on the county and on the parks, and on really the whole ecosystem … that we have to acquiesce,” Mayo said.
Added Buckles, “We need to watch this board, we need to watch this judge and we need to stay together throughout this process.”
