Geauga Park District Board - June 20, 2023
Meeting: Tuesday June 20, 2023 at 8:30 am (change from Monday due to Juneteenth holiday) at Big Creek Park Meyer Center, 9160 Robinson Rd, Chardon, OH 44024. This meeting was in-person only with no virtual option.
Public Comment Policy: The Park District Board does not have a formal policy and in practice, does not permit public comment.
Board Attendance: Commissioners Howard Bates, Jolene Carnabuci, Ray Guarino, Les LaGatta and Frank Stein were present.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director; Dawn Sweeney, Finance Director; Matt McCue, Deputy Director, Paul Pira, Chief Biologist, Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant. Staff In attendance were Park Ranger Larry McKinnon and Chief Dennis Sloan, and Naturalist Linda Gilbert.
Minutes: Minutes from the May 15, 2023 meeting were approved without discussion and when available are posted online.
Agenda: Approved without discussion.
Financial Report: Dawn Sweeney, Finance Director, verbally reported these individual fund balances:
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General Fund $3,412,509
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Land Improvement Fund $2,782,550
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Capital Reserve $89,190
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K9 Fund balance was stated to be $0.00
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All Funds total: $6,284,249
There was no discussion of the financial report.
Payment Report - This report was presented by Ms. Sweeney, no vote was taken. Ms. Carnabucci questioned the item for Liability insurance and wondered if it should be renegotiated. Ms. Sweeney stated that it was periodically reviewed. She said that a RFP (Request for Proposals) would be going out this fall.
Old Business - none
New Business:
Resolution No. 8-2023 Ranger Larry McKinnon - APPROVED
The Board, together with Chief Dennis Sloan, presented Ranger McKinnon an appreciation resolution for his services to Geauga Park District upon his retirement after serving 26 years with the Geauga Park District.
Meyer Center - Roofing Project Contract Award - APPROVED
On May 31, 2023 two bids were received. The lowest and best bid awarded will be for $62,850 to Lindsey Construction
Veterans Legacy Wood - Cold Water Stream Restoration Contract Award - APPROVED
On March 29, 2023, three proposals were received. They were evaluated by four people and the award of $1,099,162 was made to RiverReach Construction. Chief Naturalist Paul Piro stated that “They knocked it out of the park.” They have done two successful projects for Geauga Park District - the Sunnybrook Preserve stream restoration and Spring Brook trout restoration. Construction will begin early next spring. The cold water spring had been diluted with streams of warm water. The spring will be isolated and there will also be restoration work on the stream, with 2 ponds being removed.
Resolution No. 9-2023 ODNR NatureWorks Capital Project Fund - APPROVED
This $16,409 Grant will provide funds for new trails and parking to improve access for the newly purchased Brede property. This resolution establishes a new Capital Projects Fund specifically for the ODNR NatureWorks Brede Property in Troy Township.
From the Board Packet, obtained via public records request:
Resolution No. 10-2023 - 2023 Revised Budget Resolution - APPROVED
A transfer from the 2016 Capital Reserve Fund (now closed) to the General Fund was approved in May. This revised Budget reflects that transfer.
Resolution No. 1102023 - 2024 Tax Budget - APPROVED
This will be presented to the Geauga County Budget Commission for the 2.6 mill levies that are currently approved by the voters. Schedules A & B submitted and available for review through a public records request. Schedule A listed the three levies as follows: 1986 levy .7 mill for $983,434; 2000 .90 mill for $2,460,592 and 2013 1.0 mill for $3,196,549, for an anticipated total of the three levies of $6,662,575 which is the amount included in the 2024 Budget.
At last month’s meeting, Ms. Sweeney said that the estimate for ending all funds balance at the end of 2024 under this draft budget would be $1,971,507.94. They now anticipate a General Fund balance at the end of 2023 of $1,619,696.77. These amounts correspond to the ones listed in this final budget.
Notably, there was no discussion and there were no questions from GPD Board Commissioners.
Observer Comment: Following the meeting this observer asked Mr. Oros the status of the issue raised by the OAG Opinion No. 2022-017 regarding replacement levies. Mr. Oros stated that the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association had successfully gotten an amendment inserted into the 2024 Budget bill (still pending due to differences between the House and Senate version). His understanding is that this amendment would be retroactive and would take care of any issues regarding Park Districts utilizing replacement levies.
Reviewer Comment: It is unclear why this information was not discussed during the public session. Given that two of the three levies presented here have been deemed to have illegal origins, it is also unclear what will happen if the General Assembly does not take corrective action. The Geauga Budget Commission has repeatedly expressed concerns about the uncertainty of the situation. For more information, see LWVG Observer Corps Reports for the May 1, June 5 and June 20, 2023 Budget Commission meetings.
Commissioner’s Time
Mr. Oros introduced Naturalist Linda Gilbert who gave a presentation on “Noteworthy Dragons and Damsels in Geauga Parks.”
Ms. Gilbert stated that the presence of these Odonata species indicates the health of the parks. She reviewed the life cycle, which in nymphs she characterized as Submarine (this cycle can last a month to 6 years), Winged adults (characterized as helicopter) - this cycle can last 1 day - month. She noted especially Veterans Legacy Woods, Weldon’s Gorge Russell Park, Burton Marsh, West Woods, Headwaters, Rookery, and Bass Lake as having different endangered or threatened species.
Mr. Oros reported on other programs and said that there were record numbers participating in the Nature Writing, sponsored by the Foundation for Geauga Parks.
There were 10 schools and 805 students who participated in NatureScopes at the Rookery in May.
On May 20th there were 803 attending the “Touch a Truck” program.
Boat borrowing has started at Headlands; There were a total of 117 programs with 3,459 people participating.
Resolution Regarding Surplus Property - This resolution was approved which will send several items to auction (including a 200 Honda 8000W Generator.) One item was listed as a trade-in (2007 Leader 18 gallon canning tank).
Executive Session - Mr. Oros stated that there was no need for an Executive Session.
Public Comment - none permitted.
Next meeting – Monday July 17 @ 8:30 am
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
Submitted: June 26, 2023
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