More than $630,000 Waiting to Be Disbursed
“Shame on us if we can’t come up with a good plan to spend the dollars and to use them wisely as she intended.” – Kathy McClure
Most people wouldn’t have a problem finding ways to spend an inheritance, unless it seems you live in Thompson Township and the former Ledgemont school district.
For 90-minutes Aug. 21, 13 members of the Thompson Township Park Commission and Berkshire Schools’ Frances Spatz Leighton Finance Committee sat in a large circle, brainstorming about how to collaboratively use the more than $630,000 left in the Frances Spatz Leighton trust.
In the end, however, the two groups could not overcome the analysis paralysis of decision-making, either collectively or separately.
Leighton was the daughter of a Jewish farmer, Joseph Orstein, who immigrated to America from Poland during World War II and eventually settled down on a 124-acre farm on Phillips Road in Thompson.
After graduating from Thompson High School, Leighton went on to become a prolific writer and journalist who made a career chronicling the lives of those who work backstage, backstairs or in backrooms in Washington D.C.
She passed away in 2007 in Arlington, Va., at the age of 87, naming in her handwritten will the township and school district as equal beneficiaries of her estate, which comprises cash and property in several states, including her family’s Phillips Road farm.
Her intention was for the funds to be used for nature, literacy, improving education and improving and encouraging reading.
The township transferred its interest to the park commission because it was better suited to honor her request.
Then, in 2016, as a result of the territory transfer of the former Ledgemont Schools, a court order allowed either Thompson Township Trustees or Berkshire Schools Board of Education to submit funding requests for the beneficial interest of Ledgemont.
As of July 31, monies held for the benefit of Berkshire/Thompson totaled $240,252, according to attorney William C. Hofstetter, trustee of Leighton’s trust.
Monies for the benefit of the park commission totaled $236,551, as of July 31, according to Hofstetter.
There also are four certificates of deposit held for the benefit of the park commission valued at $160,601, as of Dec. 31, 2017.
Thompson resident and finance committee member Kathy McClure led the discussion.
“We all seem to be very blessed by a lot of funds, but not a lot of really formative ideas to hang those funds on, which is really kind of a strange position to be in,” McClure said. “I think our goal, for all of us, is to make the very best use of those monies and, if we can do that collectively, that seems to be even a better cross-section of how we put those funds to use.”
She added, “This is certainly an opportunity that perhaps Thompson may never see again, so it is something we need to jump on.”
Park Commission
Park Commission Chairman Ross McElligott explained the all-volunteer, five-member park board is a separate political entity from the township and oversees Thompson Ledges Park, a small park comprising roughly 20 acres south of Thompson Road.
The commission also owns almost 60 acres on the north side of the road.
“We’ve made some improvements, we’ve got a few things in the planning stage and I would say quite a bit of funds committed to what we have planned,” McElligott said.
He added there is a “safety problem” at the park because hikers want to climb down under the ledge.
‘There’s really only one good way to go and it’s down the road, and that is not safe,” he said. “So we’ve come up with a plan to have a set of steps built near the pavilion, with a platform, that will go down with a view of the rock. You could sit on the platform and view the rock, and from there, go down.”
The other plan is to build an overpass on Thompson Road so people can safely access the park land on both sides of the road.
McElligott said he has no idea what the total cost would be or a timeline, but they are anxious to get the projects underway.
Commission member Britt Townsend said they still have plans for a nature/learning center, but it would be a waste of resources to create a library inasmuch as the new Thompson Public Library branch will have the “Frances Spatz Leighton Room.”
“We’ve been stymied a number of times, so we’re still putting it together,” Townsend said.
Finance Committee/Berkshire
Jim Schafer said the finance committee was created as Ledgemont was closing to advise Berkshire officials on potential uses of the trust funds.
Berkshire Superintendent John Stoddard said the district previously used some of the trust funds to purchase Chromebook laptops for Ledgemont Elementary School students.
He explained the district is hoping to come up with a plan to use a larger portion of the funds to get “more bang for our buck.”
With the passage of the bond issue in May, Stoddard said Berkshire eventually intends to operate a single campus on the ground of Kent State University – Geauga in Burton Township.
“The question now is what are we going to do with that existing campus (Ledgemont elementary) and do we want to use some of these funds to either make some improvements or to help make that property more manageable for someone,” he said, adding Ledgemont Recreation Board might be interested in using the fields and gymnasium.
“Where we struggle is it (trust funds) needs to be spent in the school that in three years isn’t going to be a school anymore,” said Stoddard.
McClure added, “We could be in a use it or lose it circumstance.”
Stoddard floated the idea of forming a partnership with the park commission so the end result is beneficial for the community, whether the Ledgemont elementary property on Burrows Road becomes a park or something else.
He also said a market research study will be conducted to determine viable uses for that property.
Berkshire school board member Robin Stanley, who also serves on the finance committee, explained the bond issue includes funds to demolish existing school buildings.
She said if it made sense in the Montville/Thompson community, all or part of the Ledgemont elementary building could be demolished.
Stoddard said the school district is not looking to sell the building.
“What we want is for that to be usable space for the community,” he said.
Geauga Park District
GPD Executive Director John Oros said the park district is ready to help any way it can.
He explained GPD has experience in-house and through contractors constructing trails, bridge, shelters and boardwalks, and has a team of naturalists gifted in interpreting nature, plants and animals.
“So, I think there are a number of things we could do,” Oros said, adding he would like feedback from residents about what they would like to see.
Park commission member Mike Kuehn pointed out a survey was mailed to residents before with little response.
“So it’s hard to know what people want, but I think we’re all in agreement you go to a park, you want to hike, you want to walk trails, so that was kind of our focus,” he said.
Oros said trails probably are the number one amenity people seek out at the county park system.
Park commission member Don Arnold, who owns the Thompson/Grand Valley KOA Holiday campground on Ledge Road, concurred.
“Most of our customers are going to the nature trails,” he said. “Over 70 percent come to the office wanting to know where the nearest park system is.”
In terms of recreation and athletics at the Burrows Road property, Arnold questioned where the money would come from to take care of and maintain the fields and facilities.
“I know what I spend on my 70 acres,” he added. “It’s just very expensive.”
Oros shared the park district leases Headwaters Park from the City of Akron.
“They’re happy to have us. We’re happy to have them,” he said. “We provide resources and collaborate well.”
Oros said the park district would be willing to collaborate with the group, provided the trust funds are spent properly. He said a lease-type relationship potentially could provide for maintenance.
McElligott said he did not know whether the park commission legally could lease Thompson Ledges Park to the park district.
“This park was voted in by the people in an election,” he said.
“I think those are things that come up as possibilities for us to look into,” McClure said. “Are those things that might seem appealing to this board on the surface?”
“We are what we are,” McElligott said. “Do we want to be more? If you’re asking me, I don’t want to be more.”
Park commission member Chuck Lausin said everyone should think about Leighton’s desires.
“I think if we would all put this in our think-tank, what would Frances want? Not what I want, what would Frances want because she was the one who made the gift,” he said.
In the end, McClure suggested several things to explore, including a resident survey, a potential lease structure with the county park district and what to do with the Burrows Road property.
“We didn’t come up with a whole lot new,” she said. “Shame on us if we can’t come up with a good plan to spend the dollars and to use them wisely as she intended.”
