Geauga Park District Turns Down Fleet Management Contract in Brief Board Meeting
Geauga Park District Board - July 15, 2024 Meeting
The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Monday, July 15, 2024 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. Meeting began at 8:33 am.
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. Commissioner Jolene Carnabuci was absent.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director; Dawn Sweeney, Finance Director; Matt McCue, Deputy Director, and Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant. Also in attendance were Paul Piro, Naturalist; Dennis Sloan, Chief Ranger; and Geauga Park District Attorney Todd Hicks from the firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan.
Public Attendance: Members of Protect Geauga Parks, reporter from Chagrin Valley Times, and this observer.
Approval of Agenda/Addendum Items - There were no items added to the Agenda. The Agenda was approved.
Minutes: Minutes from the June 17, 2024 meeting were approved and are posted online here.
Financial Report: Dawn Sweeney, Finance Director, verbally reported these individual fund balances as of June 30, 2024:
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Beginning balance as of 6/1/24 in the General Fund: $4,657,459
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Ending balance as of 6/30/24 in the General Fund: $4,173,258
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Beginning balance as of 6/1/24 in the Land Improvement Fund: $1,912,802
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Ending balance as of 6/30/24 in the Land Improvement Fund: $1,859,605
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All Funds beginning balance on 6/1/24: $6,570,261
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All Funds ending balance on 5/31/24: $6,032,863
There were no questions and no discussion.
Presentation of Payment Report for June, 2024: There was no discussion about the balances.
Observer Note: There was no vote on this payment report as the payments have already occurred.
Old Business - Planning Update.
Planning Update: Mr. McCue reported on several items:
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They have finished the Rookery and Orchard Hills asphalt improvements.
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The Cold Water Stream Restoration project will have a pre-construction meeting today.
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The Bridge Replacement at West Woods is on hold because utilities relocation work has to be done. Mr. McCue said this project will be pushed to next year.
New Business
This Resolution would have established a fleet management program that would manage the procurement and maintenance of vehicles through a lease and maintenance agreement over a period of 10 years. It was tabled several times previously, and at this meeting, Mr. Oros recommended that the Board vote no so that it could be removed from the Agenda going forward. He said that they would be looking at other alternatives (not specified). The Board unanimously voted no on this Resolution.
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Surplus Items
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Going to scrap: Osprey interpretive sign, 2 Old Town Heron Junior Kayaks (defective).
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A 2015 GMC Sierra will be traded in, as a replacement vehicle for it that had been ordered is now available.
Commissioner’s Time
Mr. Oros showed a few pictures from this summer’s Adventure Day Camp. He said that all sessions were at full capacity.
Mr. Oros also showed some pictures from the award ceremony from the Nature Writing contest. He said that the Foundation for Geauga Parks had contributed to the prizes this year. There was an increase in contestants. This year there were 351 entries, with 105 adults and 83 teens. The rest were elementary school children.
Winners and additional information can be found on the Geauga Park District website here.
Mr. Oros reported that 754 people reserved boats at Headwaters Park, and 273 people utilized the High Ropes Course at Claridon Woodlands.
In June there were a total of 97 programs with 1,696 participants, and 1,277 patrons visited west woods
There were no comments from the Board members.
Executive Session - Mr. Oros stated that there was no need for an Executive Session.
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District Policy, no public comment permitted.
Reviewer Comment: Of note, this GPD Board meeting was quite brief, lasting only 10 minutes. 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 may be hindered.
Next meeting – Monday, August 19 at 8:30 am. Additionally, at 8:15 am on August 19th there will be a Records Retention Meeting.
Motion to adjourn was made and approved unanimously at 8:43 am.
Observer Note: At the front desk there was a rack with pamphlets for the ACE (Agriculture Career Education) Charter School. Mr. Oros is the President of the Ace Charter School Board, which is hoping to start operating within the Cardinal School District this fall. The Board of County Commissioners committed to contribute $100,000 towards the start-up fees for this school via a grant from the Community and Economic Development Department, of which $80,000 has been paid to date. See June 11, 2024 LWV Geauga Observer Report for more information.
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes
Observers: Gail Roussey
Editor/Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: July 17, 2024
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