Ron Leyde Officially Appointed to Fiscal Officer/Treasurer Position
Geauga Park District Board Regular Meeting - April 20, 2026
Meeting Details: The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Monday, April 20, 2026, 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: Present were Commissioners Howard Bates, Ray Guarino, Sally LaMarca, John Ralph and Frank Stein.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director; Matt McCue, Deputy Director; and Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant. Also in attendance were Ron Leyde, Finance Director; Lucas Beamer, IT Manager; Christine Cycyk, HR Manager; Todd Hicks, Legal Counsel from the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan; Sandy Ward, Marketing Coordinator; and Mike Rose, Chief Park Ranger.
Public Attendance: Members of Protect Geauga Parks; Kate Jacob, Chief Compliance Officer, Geauga County Auditor’s Office and Candidate for Probate/Juvenile Judge; a reporter from Chagrin Valley Times; and LWVG Observer Mary Heintzelman were present.
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 March 16 , 2026 meeting were approved without question or comment and are posted online here.
Financial Report: Mr. Oros verbally reported these individual fund balances as of March 31, 2026:
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Beginning balance as of 3/01/2026 in the General Fund: $5,015,705
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Ending balance as of 3/31/2026 in the General Fund: $6,149,435
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Beginning balance as of 3/01/2026 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,011,902
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Ending balance as of 3/31/2026 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,378,237
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All Funds beginning balance on 3/01/2026: $8,027,607
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All Funds ending balance on 3/31/2026: $9,527,672
Mr. Oros stated that, upon review of previous financial statements, there were mistakes which have now been corrected. The revenue accounts were not recorded correctly. There was also a vendor payment in 2025 that needed to be reissued. The fund balances from January and February were corrected and reflect the corrected amounts.
Presentation of Payment Report for February: There were no questions, and there was no discussion.
Observer Note: There is no approval or motion regarding the payment report as the payments have already occurred.
Old Business - None
New Business
The following were presented by Mr.Oros and approved unanimously:
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A Cybersecurity policy was introduced by Mr. Oros. Due to the enactment of HB96, The State of Ohio now requires all local government and jurisdictions to establish cybersecurity policies. This Policy has been prepared and reviewed by the Park District IT Manager and recommended for adoption as a framework for compliance with Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 9.64. The policy will become effective immediately with implementation of technical and training requirements to take place no later than June 30, 2026.
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A motion was presented to update the credit card use policy to include a provision for staff to utilize the credit card to pay for training expenses including conference fees, training seminars, membership fees and permit fees.
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A request was made to close three accounts that are not being utilized for GPD financial operations. The accounts include one account with Middlefield Bank and two Geauga Credit Union credit card accounts.
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Seven bids were received for the Rookery - West Operations Facility Improvements Project. The recommendation was for the bid from Zerbe Construction LLC of $1,244,187 to be accepted as it represented the lowest and best bid. Zerbe Construction has successfully completed several past projects for the Park District.
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A request was made to officially appoint Ron Leyde to the position of Fiscal Officer/Treasurer. Mr. Leyde has 20+ years of government finance experience including his time at the Geauga County Auditor’s Office.
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Surplus Property - Mr. Oros stated that, due to spring cleaning, they have over 15 items of surplus property. The items will be either scrapped, donated, traded in, or sent to auction.
Mr. Ralph inquired as to the workings of the auction. Mr. Oros stated that it is a government auction website and open to everyone.
These were approved with no discussion.
Commissioners’ Time - Mr. Oros presented the following:
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Within the first 40 minutes of the Spring Program registration release, approximately 390 patrons signed up for a program. Two of the 10 weeks for the summer camps were filled.
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In the month of March, 1,200 people attended maple sugaring programs and 341 students from 16 classes attended the maple sugaring program on field trips. There were 98 naturalists-led programs with 3,218 people attending and 1,586 visitors to West Woods Park.
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The opening reception of the art show “On the Wing” was attended by 318 guests at the Westwoods Nature Center. The artwork will be on display until July 26, 2026.
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Ninety active volunteers attended the spring volunteer celebration at Veterans Legacy Woods. The Robert McCullough Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Sonny Williams.
Observer Note: More information on Park District events is available here.
Executive Session - The Commissioners moved into Executive Session at 8:48 for the purpose of discussing the purchase of property. They returned at 9:03 with no action.
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District practice, no public comment was permitted.
Meeting Adjourned at 9:03
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, May 11, 2026 at 8:30 am.
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes.
Observer: Mary Heintzelman
Editor: Harry Rees
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: April 28, 2026
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