Geauga Park District Welcomes New Board Member Sally LaMarca and
Approves Renewal and Increase Levy to be Placed on the November Ballot
Geauga Park District Board Regular Meeting – May 19, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 8:30 am at Big Creek Park Meyer Center, 9160 Robinson Rd, Chardon, OH 44024. This meeting was in-person only with no virtual attendance option. This observer makes a request to Mr. Oros (joros@geaugaparkdistrict.org) for the Board packet in advance of the meeting in order to better understand the substance of the matters approved.
Public Comment Policy: The Park District Board does not have a formal policy and in practice never permits public comment.
Board Attendance: Commissioners Howard Bates, Ray Guarino, Les LaGatta and Frank Stein were present. New Board member Sally LaMarca was present following the resignation of Jolene Carnabuci. Observer Note: Board Members are appointed by the Probate Judge, who is presently Judge Timothy Grendell.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director, Dawn Sweeney, Fiscal Officer and Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant. Also in attendance were Matt McCue, Deputy Director, IT Manager, Lucas Beamer, Sandy Ward, Marketing Director, Chief Naturalist Paul Piro, Naturalist John Kolar, Chief Ranger Dennis Sloan, Christine Ward, HR Director and Attorney Bridey Metheney from the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan.
Public Attendance: Members of Protect Geauga Parks and this Observer were present as well as reporters from the Geauga Maple Leaf and Chagrin Valley Times.
Pledge of Allegiance: Recited.
Approval of Agenda/Addendum Items: There were no items added to the Agenda. The Agenda was approved.
Minutes: Minutes from the April 21, 2025 meeting were approved and are posted online here. Observer Note: New Board Member, Sally LaMarca voted yes along with all other members. Mr. LaGatta was also absent for that meeting.
Financial Report: Dawn Sweeney, Fiscal Officer, verbally reported these individual fund balances as of April 30, 2025:
-
Ending balance as of 4/30/25 in the General Fund: $5,765,114
-
Beginning balance as of 4/01/25 in the Land Improvement Fund: $1,869,846
-
Ending balance as of 4/30/25 in the Land Improvement Fund: $2,077,713
-
All Funds beginning balance on 4/1/25: $7,903,946
-
All Funds ending balance on 4/30/25: $7,842,827
There were no questions and no discussion.
Presentation of Payment Report for April 2025.
There were no questions and no discussion.
Observer Note: There is no approval or motion regarding the payment report as the payments have already occurred.
Old Business
Mr. McCue offered a planning update on construction projects. He said that the bridge replacement at the West Woods will be starting in June. They are wrapping up the reforestation at Veterans Legacy Woods. Work at Sunnybrook Preserve will also begin in June on resurfacing. Various improvements at Big Creek Park were discussed. They are working on the camping lean-to and getting started on the second treehouse. Also at Big Creek, they have added an additional camping shelter that has been constructed by their in-house crew, which was praised by Mr. Oros.
Mr. McCue said that other projects will be later in the summer. The following items were not discussed at the meeting but were on the list of planning department construction projects:
-
Beartown Lakes improvements: original bid award now listed as $220,818.92 to Geauga Park District (GPD) Construction Crew together with Kompan/Romtec. (Original construction budget of $450,000)
-
Big Creek Tupelo improvements with GPD Crew and others to be determined. (Original construction budget of $200,000).
-
Maple Highlands Trail (MHT) North improvements with GPD Crew and I. Caticchio & Sons, Inc. (Original construction budget $50,000, current construction costs $19,609).
-
Sunnybrook Preserve Trail improvements with GPD Construction Crew (original construction budget $50,000).
New Business
The following Resolutions were approved unanimously without any questions or comments from the Board:
-
Resolution to Approve a Transfer Request to move $1,800,000 from the General Fund to the Land Improvement Fund. Mr. Oros said this was to “continue to invest in capital improvement projects.”
-
Resolution to Approve Revised Appropriation for 2025 Budget - This resolution was in response to the change above for a transfer into the Land Improvement Fund.
-
Resolution Declaring it Necessary to Levy a Tax in Excess of the Ten-Mill Limitation. Mr. Oros read from the Resolution which stated in part “that is has been determined that the amount of taxes which may be raised within the ten-mill limitation by levies on the current tax duplicate will be insufficient to provide an adequate amount for the necessary requirements of the Geauga Park District and it is necessary to levy a tax in excess of such limitation for the purposes of operating, improving, and providing outdoor recreational services on Geauga Park District lands, of preserving, conserving and protecting natural features on Geauga District lands, and of operating, improving, acquiring, preserving, conserving and protecting future Geauga Park District lands as provided and authorized in Section 1545.21 of the Ohio Revised Code.” Information about GPD’s current levies was in the Board packet as follows: 1.0 levy from 2013 (expires 2032); a 0.9 mill levy from 2000 (expires 2029), and a 0.7 mill levy from 1985 (expires this year).
Mr. Oros said this proposed levy will be an increase and renewal of the 0.7 mill levy for a total of 1.2 mills. He did not want to propose a replacement levy. He said this was because the State Legislature has legislation pending that would eliminate the replacement levy. Reviewer Note: Under House Bill 28 passed in March 2025, local governments will be prohibited from proposing replacement property tax levies beginning with elections held on or after October 21, 2025. A replacement levy uses updated property values to calculate property taxes, which in most cases results in a higher tax payment, even if the levy millage remains the same.
The proposed levy will be on the ballot in November, 2025. He said they had three scenarios of income with the Auditor and chose the 0.7 mill with an increase of 0.5 mills was chosen.
In support of the levy, Mr. Oros included in the Board packet the five-year budget forecast and a list of expenses. The list shows a decrease in revenue from $6,371,344 in 2024 to $6,003,395 for 2025. This list also shows an increase in expenses from $8,190,474 in 2024 to $10,077,702 for 2025. There was no discussion and there were no questions about why these numbers have fluctuated; however, Fiscal Officer Dawn Sweeney said that the budget reflects the Capital Improvement Plan approved at the April 2025 meeting as well as yearly increases for various expenses. There was no further information either in the Board packet or at the meeting as to the reason for the decrease in revenue, although the increase in expenses appear to be for work discussed regarding the Five Year Plan.
-
Recommendation for Liability Insurance Services - Ms. Sweeney gave her recommendation to continue with the Public Entities Pool of Ohio (PEP) coverage. Observer Note: The following information was contained in the Board packet but not discussed: The PEP Plan provides coverage for more than 600 political subdivisions in Ohio. Geauga Park District will contribute $109,190 for 2025-2026.
-
Surplus Items - Several items were designated scrap and the following will go to auction: 2016 GMC Sierra 3500 Pick up Truck with Box 8 Ft Snow Plow attached and Tommy Gate Lift Gate.
Commissioner’s Time
-
West Woods Visitor’s Center: Mr. Oros introduced Geauga Park Naturalist John Kolar who detailed the plans for the West Woods Center Interpretive Plan at the Visitor’s Center. Mr. Kolar said that the team visited many local nature centers. Their goal was to make this hands-on and also to encourage residents to get out to see the parks. He talked about the amazing diversity in the parks on the 10,000 acres of Park land. He said that they hope to highlight the diverse places in the Park system and also the rich diversity of animal and plant life with a video and interactive map of the park system. Some current exhibits will be utilized but updated. Mr. Kolar also said that the exhibit space would have live animals, a microscope display, a touch table, videos from trail cam treasures (from a few new cam trails as well), a dimly lit nocturnal treasures room, a tree and leaf display and birds in flight display. There will also be some upgrades to the native pollinator garden, bird feeder cameras (for viewers at home), displays of Geauga’s Historic Treasurers and updates to the Kids Zone.
Executive Session - Mr. Oros said he had nothing for the Executive Session.
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District Policy, no public comment was permitted.
Reviewer Comment: Without public discussion by the Board of Agenda items or the opportunity for members of the public to comment and ask questions, the ability of the public to fully understand the business of the Geauga Park District and its use of Geauga County taxpayer funding is hindered.
Next meeting – Monday, June 16, 2025 at 8:30 am.
Meeting adjourned at 9:09 am.
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: May 21, 2025
The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.