Numerous Parks To Be Improved According to GPD 2026 Capital Expenditures Plan
Geauga Park District Board Regular Meeting – October 20, 2025
Meeting Details: The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Monday, October 20, 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, Sally LaMarca, and John Ralph. Commissioner Frank Stein was absent.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director; Dawn Sweeney, Fiscal Officer; Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant; and Matt McCue, Deputy Director. Also in attendance were Paul Piro, Chief Naturalist; Lucas Beamer, IT Manager; Sandy Ward, Marketing Director; Chief Ranger Dennis Sloan, and Attorney Todd Hicks from the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan.
Public Attendance: Members of Protect Geauga Parks; Kate Jacobs, Chief Compliance Officer, Geauga County Auditor’s Office; Kristin Rine, Assistant Geauga County Prosecutor, and this Observer were present, as well as reporters from the Chagrin Valley Times and Geauga Maple Leaf.
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 September 15, 2025 meeting were approved without question or comment and are posted online here.
Financial Report: Dawn Sweeney, Fiscal Officer, verbally reported these individual fund balances as of September 30, 2025:
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Ending balance as of 9/30/25 in the General Fund: $5,423,613
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Beginning balance as of 9/01/25 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,452,933
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Ending balance as of 9/30/25 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,264,498
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All Funds beginning balance on 9/1/25: $9,360,635
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All Funds ending balance on 9/30/25: $8,688,110
There were no questions and no discussion.
Presentation of Payment Report for September, 2025.
There was one question from Mr. Bates about the asphalt rollers that were mentioned. Mr. McCue said that they had a large one and a small one for trail work.
Observer Note: There is no approval or motion regarding the payment report as the payments have already occurred.
Old Business
A Planning Update was offered by Deputy Director Matt McCue as follows:
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Most projects are complete.
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Tupelo Pond - they will be working on the pavilion for the picnic area during the month.
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Beartown Lakes - They are still working on projects at Beartown and will be through the end of the month.
There were no questions or comments.
New Business
The following Resolution was approved unanimously without any questions or comments from the Board:
Resolution 18-2025, 2025 Revised Budget - Approved
Observer Note: As provided in the Board packet, there was no change to total anticipated revenue of $15,897,998.20 or to total expenditures estimated at $10,077,702.07. Personnel Services decreased from $5,005,602.06 to the revised budget figure of $4,991,275.21. Operating expenses increased from $3,867,100.01 to $3,881,426.86.
Observer Note: There is a GPD levy on the ballot this November for a 20-year, 1.2 mill renewal and increase (0.7 mill renewal and 0.5 mill additional). This levy was approved by the GPD Board on May 19, 2025. See LWVGeauga Observer report on this meeting here. The renewal and increase would more than triple the revenue collected by the 0.7 mill levy from $1,009,739 to $3,384,359 if approved by voters. See News Herald interview with Mr. Oros here for more information.
There was no discussion and there were no questions from the Board.
Discussion about 2026 Capital Improvement Projects - Mr. McCue discussed the 2026 Plan:
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Hambden Hills Dam Improvements - the former Kittredge property - budget of $850,000. Mr. McCue said that the primary inlet needs work. They lowered the dam, but it needs a new primary inlet and it needs to be regraded to bring it to a Category 2 dam (as set by ODNR - Ohio Department of Natural Resources). ODNR will be reviewing the plans, and GPS hopes to go out to bid after the first of the year.
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Frohring Meadows - Dragonfly Trail Improvements - $60,000 - primarily to make it more ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. Mr. McCue said that Frohring Meadows is the most popular GPD Park.
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Big Creek Park - Deepwoods Lodge area Restroom Improvements - $300,000. This will result in new restrooms with flush toilets and running water and will connect visually with the Lodge, but would also be accessible from outside for hikers. Mr. McCue said that they have added new lodge facilities. He said that use of the shelters has dramatically increased.
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The West Woods -Discovery and Trout Lily Trail Improvements - $50,000. They will be changing the boardwalk area and removing some sections of asphalt for better permeability.
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West Operations Facility (now split between the Rookery and office space at the West Woods). They will be creating a new structure at the Rookery which will also be used for office space. $975,000
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Mountain Run Station - $300,000 - This will include asphalt improvements. The original asphalt was from 2005.
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Veterans Legacy Woods - Stream Daylighting and Wetland Restoration - $400,000. This project will open up small streams that were diverted when the property was a golf course. Not all streams will flow all year, but many will connect with the Cuyahoga West Branch, which Mr. McCue said was a very high quality system. He indicated that all the work should be accomplished by in-house construction and through ONDR funding. Naturalist Paul Piro suggested that the Board members come out to see this park.
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A/E (Architectural/Engineering) Professional Services and Permits - $250,000. Observer Note: The particular projects that might need these services were not discussed, but it was stated at the July meeting that the Hambden Hills dam project would require an architectural review and engineering work. See LWVGeauga Observer report for July 21, 2025 here.
Total Estimate of Capital Expenditures - $3,185,000
Commissioner’s Time - There were no presentations or questions or discussion from the Board.
Mr. Oros reviewed the September statistics as follows:
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The total number of programs for the month of September was 92, with 1,972 program participants.
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On Wednesday, October 1st, facility rentals were opened to Geauga County residents. In the first hour they received 267 receipts (which could include more than one reservation); 70 in the first five minutes; by 9 am 90% of reservations for Clariden Woodlands were filled. By noon there were 355 receipts. Out-of-county facility rentals will open on Monday, November 3rd at 10 am.
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October 4th was the 4th annual Space Race at Observatory Park. There were 275 racers of all ages and abilities, and they completed as many laps as they could in 2 hours. Each completed lap equates to some amount of travel through our solar system — for example, one .85-mile lap takes you to Mercury, 4 laps and you’ve arrived on Mars, 10 laps gets you to Pluto, and so on.
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Final count for Headwaters boat reservations was 1,500 paddlers. There were 787 climbers of the Claridon Woodlands Ropes course.
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On September 13th, Andy Abram, Volunteer Coordinator, organized a picnic for volunteers.
Executive Session - Mr. Oros announced an Executive Session at 8:55 am regarding pending court action.
Return from Executive Session at 9:09 am with no action.
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District practice, no public comment was permitted.
Meeting Adjourned at 9:10 am
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, November 17, 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: 10/25/25
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