The first board meeting of the Geauga Park District's new Board of Commissioners went off without a hitch last Tuesday.Mary Ruth Shumway and Louis Mucci…
The first board meeting of the Geauga Park District’s new Board of Commissioners went off without a hitch last Tuesday.
Mary Ruth Shumway and Louis Mucci gave an overview of how meetings would take place and established a 5 p.m. start time for subsequent meetings, beginning in March.
They also gave the public some background on their history and said they were excited to talk about their goals going forward.
They said they wanted to be transparent with the public.
“If we can take questions now, we’ll be able to answer them either now or later on in the meeting,” Mucci said.
Parkman resident John Augustine asked them to talk more about themselves.
Iola Skinner, a park district volunteer, asked whether or not they participated in park programs and if they had a favorite park they enjoyed visiting.
“Do you have backgrounds in ecology and nature? What are some of the changes you intend to make as park board members?” Skinner asked.
Shumway said the park district took her on a tour of the facilities after she was appointed park board commissioner.
“They worked hard to get me the details about everything and were thorough,” she said of the district, adding her favorite parks were Beartown Lakes Reservation in Bainbridge and Auburn townships and The West Woods Nature Center in Russell Township.
“I have horses and The West Woods is great,” Shumway said. “I also used to run at Beartown Lakes as well.”
She said her goal was simply to “serve the people who vote for the park district.”
Shumway added she wanted to hold more meetings in order to find out what the public wants.
“Most people in this county don’t know about this treasure in their back yards,” she said of the park district.
In other news, the park district recognized Nature Education Coordinator Judy Bradt Barnhart for her 25 years of service. Barnhart began working for the park district on Feb. 8, 1989 as a naturalist. In 1998, she became a nature education coordinator.
Among her accomplishments were canoe and kayaking programs as well as Stroller Strolls and geocaching, park district Interim Deputy Director John Oros said.
Ohio Horseman’s Council members Nora Stanton and Joy Keco presented Geauga Park District Foundation President Richard Frenchie with a $1,000 donation to help with the park district’s bridal trail fund.
“Thank you for making the park useful for the horse riders,” Keco said.
Frenchie said he appreciated the council’s contribution. Keco said the council collected the funds through various means over time.
“These are small bites that add up,” Frenchie said.
Additionally, Oros said the park district would look at conducting a feasibility study of having snowmobiles in Observatory Park in Montville Township.
The board did not approve the 2014 amended budget. Instead, they tabled approval of the budget until they could have more time to review it.
It will be discussed again at the March 4 meeting, said Communications Specialist Sandra Ward.
Ward said the board also approved small research grants, which included researching the Tamarack tree and the Asian earthworm.
