Commissioners Bates, Ralph and Stein Reappointed to GPD Board
Geauga Park District Board Regular Meeting - February 17, 2026
Meeting Details: The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 8:30 am at Big Creek Park Meyer Center, 9160 Robinson Rd, Chardon, OH 44024. This meeting was held on Tuesday due to the Presidents Day Holiday. 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 Ray Guarino, Sally LaMarca, John Ralph and Frank Stein. Howard Bates was absent.
Staff Attendance: John Oros, Executive Director, and Jessica Alpers, Administrative Assistant. Also in attendance were Lucas Beamer, IT Manager; Christine Cycyk, Interim Fiscal Officer and Treasurer; Mike Rose, Chief Park Ranger, and other unidentified staff members.
Public Attendance: Members of Protect Geauga Parks; Kate Jacobs, Chief Compliance Officer, Geauga County Auditor’s Office; reporters from the Geauga Maple Leaf and 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 January 20, 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 December 31, 2025:
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Beginning balance as of 1/01/2026 in the General Fund: $4,100,748
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Ending balance as of 1/31/2026 in the General Fund: $4,062,747
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Beginning balance as of 1/01/2026 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,046,542
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Ending balance as of 1/31/2026 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,024,956
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All Funds beginning balance on 1/01/2026: $7,147,290
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All Funds ending balance on 1/31/2026: $7,087,703
There were no questions and no discussion.
Presentation of Payment Report for December. 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 approved unanimously:
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The appointment of Geauga Park District employee Christine Cycyk as Interim Fiscal Officer and Treasurer. Ms. Cycyk has engaged services provided through the Ohio Auditor of State visiting clerks program. She was referred to Patty Fisher, Clerk/Treasurer with the Village of Jefferson in Ashtabula County. The visiting clerk will aid with the Uniform Accounting Network (UAN). This is the accounting system utilized by Geauga Park District. Ms. Cycyk will manage accounts payable and payroll. She has cross-trained with Dawn Sweeney, and now Patty Fisher on the day-to-day financial operations of the Park District. Mr. Oros stated that they are doing a search for a permanent fiscal Officer and Treasurer.
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Surplus Property - The following items have been identified as surplus property:
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Kubota Excavator - Trade-in on a new item
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Passenger Van - Trade-in on a new item
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Snowblower - Sent to auction
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Thermal Printer - Sent to auction
These were approved with no questions or discussion.
Commissioner’s Time
Mr. Oros announced the reappointments of Commissioners Bates, Ralph, and Stein. Observer Note: See the LWVG Observer Report on the January 20, 2026 GPD Meeting for more information on the uncertainty regarding recent GPD Board reappointments and resignations. The announced reappointments of these Commissioners at this meeting seems to settle the matter.
Mr. Oros reviewed several holiday events, as follows:
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January 24 - Job Fair - A job fair was held at West Woods with information about open positions and seasonal positions. 30 people attended. There will be another job fair in December 2026 to attract college students home on break to fill seasonal positions.
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February 7 - Wild About Winter - This nighttime event was held at Big Creek Park, and 175 people attended despite the frigid temperatures.
Mr. Oros reported that there were 90 naturalist-led programs in January with a total attendance of 1,638. 119 people borrowed snowshoes at West Woods in January. This is the highest number since the snowshoes were made available in 2014/2015.
Observer Note: More information on Park District events is available here.
Executive Session - None
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District practice, no public comment was permitted.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:40 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, March 16, 2026 at 8:30 am.
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes.
Observer: Mary Heintzelman
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: February 19, 2026
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