GPD Board Now Includes Judge Grendell’s Constable John Ralph
Geauga Park District Board Regular Meeting – July 21, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Monday, July 21, 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 GPD Executive Director John Oros (joros@geaugaparkdistrict.org) for the Board packet in advance of the meeting in order to better understand the substance of the matters on the Agenda.
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, John Ralph (newly appointed), Sally LaMarca and Frank Stein were present. Observer Note: This meeting was Mr. Ralph’s first meeting as a GPD Board Member. Judge Grendell appointed John Ralph to replace deceased former member Les LaGatta who passed away on June 6, 2025. However, Mr. Ralph was not introduced at this meeting and as of the date of this report there is no biographical information about Mr. Ralph on the Geauga Park District website. Previously, Mr. Ralph has been listed as the Constable to Judge Grendell in the Juvenile Division of the Probate and Juvenile Court. It is not known if he is still employed in that capacity.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director, Dawn Sweeney, Fiscal Officer, Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant, and Senior Park Planner Daniel McConnaughy. Also in attendance were Lucas Beamer, IT Manager, Sandy Ward, Marketing Director, and Chief Ranger Dennis Sloan. Also attending were Attorney Bridey Matheney from the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan. Matt McCue, Deputy Director, was absent.
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 June 16, 2025 meeting were approved and are posted online here.
Financial Report: Dawn Sweeney, Fiscal Officer, verbally reported these individual fund balances as of June 30, 2025:
-
Ending balance as of 6/30/25 in the General Fund: $3,272,707
-
Beginning balance as of 6/01/25 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,672,704
-
Ending balance as of 6/30/25 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,543,713
-
All Funds beginning balance on 6/1/25: $6,956,517
-
All Funds ending balance on 6/30/25: $6,816,419
There were no questions and no discussion.
Presentation of Payment Report for June 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. Oros gave a brief summary of the status of projects and commented later in the meeting about the West Woods bridge replacement project and several completed projects.
New Business
The following Resolutions were approved unanimously without any questions or comments from the Board:
-
Resolution to Participate in the Geauga County Engineer Resource Rental Program. Mr. Oros explained that because Geauga County has elected a new Engineer, they needed to approve this contract, which is one they have had with the County Engineer. He explained that it was mainly for crack sealing and that it “protects the integrity of our asphalt.” The amount is up to $40,000.
There were no questions or comments, and the Resolution was approved unanimously.
-
Additional Professional Services Engineering - Hambden Hills Dam. Mr. Oros reviewed a memo from Deputy Director Matt McCue (not present) in which he outlined the need for additional expenditures for the dam. This property, previously identified as the Kittredge property, was acquired in 2023. Mr. Oros said that eventually this park will be open to the public. It was stated in the memo that GPD Group was hired to prepare the engineering plans and they will be doing the additional work. Observer Note: See the Geauga Maple Leaf story about the park here. There is currently an agreement with The Buckeye Retriever Club for use of the park. See LWVGeauga Observer Report for December 18, 2023 for more information here. According to information contained in the Board packet, the dam was assessed by ODNR in 2016 and found to be “in poor condition and no longer compliant with ODNR regulations.” GPD Group was originally given the contract to perform engineering work for $50,000 on 6/23/25. The new estimate brings the total estimated cost to $124,100.
There were no questions and no discussion. The motion to approve the work was passed unanimously.
The Board approved sending an “Offset Flail Mower” to Auction.
Commissioner’s Time
Mr. Oros reported on projects completed and shared photos of the following projects:
-
Big Creek - A new lean-to was completed by the in-house construction team and will be available for camping.
-
Big Creek - A new tree house was completed by the in-house construction team.
-
Burton Wetlands - A new roof was completed on the pergola (an outside structure with partial shade) by the in-house construction team.
Mr. Oros reported on the work being done at the West Woods Bridge. He said it was moving along nicely and showed photos of the large area under construction. He said the concrete abutments have been poured.
Mr. Oros also said that GPD received a PEP (Public Entities Pool) Grant from their risk control insurance.
Mr. Oros described the success of the Nature Adventure Camp and Junior Naturalists. He also noted that outdoor concerts were held at Big Creek Amphitheatre as well as a movie night at Observatory Park.
Mr. Oros said that Paddle Fest was held at Headwaters with 39 participants. The event included mini golf on water. Mr. Oros thanked outdoor recreation specialist Trevor Wearstler and Holly Sauder, Special Events Coordinator.
In June, naturalists conducted 91 programs with 1,866 participants. Five hundred forty boats were taken out at Headwaters and 261 participants used the high ropes course at Clariden Woodlands.
Executive Session - The Board held an Executive Session to consider the Purchase of Property.
Return from Executive Session - The Board returned to report action. Mr. Oros was authorized to enter into negotiations for a property located in Chardon and Concord Townships. No other information about the property was stated.
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District Policy, no public comment was permitted.
Meeting Adjourned
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, August 18, 2025 at 8:30 am.
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: July 26, 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.