Land Purchases Adjacent to West Woods and Veterans Legacy Woods
Geauga Park District Board Regular Meeting - June 15, 2026
Meeting Details: The Geauga Park District (GPD) Board met on Monday, June 15, 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, Fiscal Officer/Treasurer; Lucas Beamer, IT Manager; John Kolar, Chief Naturalist; Sandy Ward, Marketing Coordinator; Mike Rose, Chief Park Ranger; Trevor Wearstler, Outdoor Education Specialist; Christine Cycyk, Human Resource Manager; and Todd Hicks, Legal Counsel from the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan.
Public Attendance: A member of Protect Geauga Parks and this LWVG Observer.
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 May 19, 2026 meeting were approved without question or comment and are posted online here.
Financial Report: Mr. Leyde verbally reported these individual fund balances as of April 30, 2026:
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Beginning balance as of 5/01/2026 in the General Fund: $5,563,590
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Ending balance as of 5/31/2026 in the General Fund: $4,876,555
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Beginning balance as of 5/01/2026 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,387,054
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Ending balance as of 5/30/2026 in the Land Improvement Fund: $3,153,259
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All Funds beginning balance on 5/01/2026: $8,950,644
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All Funds ending balance on 5/31/2026: $8,029,814
Presentation of Payment Report for April: Mr. Bates inquired about three of the payments, which Mr. McCue explained.
Observer Note: There was no approval or motion regarding the payment report as the payments have already occurred.
Old Business - Mr. McCue reported that all previously approved projects are underway at various parks except for the stream creation at Veterans Legacy Woods and the resurfacing of the trail at Frohring Meadows which have not yet been started.
New Business
Resolutions Approved with no discussion and no questions
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Resolution 4 - 2026 - Attestation of 2026 Permanent Budget Appropriations - Mr. Oros presented the resolution which attests that the Board adopted and approved the permanent appropriations for 2026 on December 15, 2025 and that such permanent appropriations for 2026 match the temporary appropriations for 2026 that were submitted to the Geauga County Budget Commission in December, 2025. Reviewer Note: See the January 20, 2026 LWVG Observer Report for information on resignations and reappointments of Board members, resulting in confusion as to which Board members had authority to approve Resolutions.
Resolution 5 - 2026 - 2026/2027 Tax Budget - Mr. Oros stated that Ohio Revised Code 5705.28 requires taxing authorities to pass their tax budget by July 15th of each year, which must then be submitted to the County Auditor. This legal requirement is separate from the annual appropriation resolution (budget) which is passed by the end of each fiscal year for the Geauga Park District. This approved resolution will be forwarded to the Geauga County Auditor and the Budget Commission along with supporting documents in preparation for the 2027 Budget Hearings scheduled for August 17 and August 18, 2026. Reviewer Note: The Budget Commission has sent out a listing for these Hearings and Geauga Park District is listed for August 18, 2026.
The following were presented for budget year 2027:
Total Revenues - $9,704,739
Total Expenditures - $8,116,149
Of the Total Revenue, the following is collected from Property Tax:
1986 levy - 0.70 mill - $1,023,414
2000 levy - 0.90 mill - $2,561,300
2013 levy - 1.00 mill - $3,298,935
2026 levy - 0.50 mill - $2,329,575 (an increase to the 1986 levy of 0.50 mill)
Commissioners’ Time - Mr. Oros presented the information on new land purchases which were approved in Executive Session at the meeting on May 18, 2026:
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25 Acres to be purchased in Burton Township from Shotguns Starts LLC for $550,000 at $22,000 per acre. This property borders Veterans Legacy Park. This purchase is not under contract at this time.
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180 acres to be purchased from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. This property is in Burton and Newbury Township and borders the West Woods. After reaching out to Mr. Oros, he provided information concerning the sale. The price is currently estimated at $2,411,700. This is not under contract at this time.
GPD has requested that the Geauga County Budget Commission approve an appropriation adjustment for GPD for funding of the new purchases. They are also working with grant partners to identify sources of funding to help with the purchase.
Mr. Oros presented the following which took place in the Month of May:
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Elementary students from Euclid Schools attended the "Hooked on Fishing” program at Beartown Lakes in April and May. Members from the Euclid Police Department also attended.
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Nature Scopes, Binocular Blitz, and Graduation Programs were held throughout the month for Geauga County fifth graders. There were 36 classes and 882 students in attendance.
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Geauga Park District representatives gave presentations, highlighting the Parks, to two separate outreach programs.
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Opening day for the Claridon Woods high ropes course and for boat borrowing at Headwaters Park was May 23rd. They had 44 people on the high ropes course and 181 people borrowed kayaks, paddle boats and canoes.
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There were 118 Naturalist programs with 2,453 people in attendance.
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Westwoods Nature Center had 1,584 visitors
Trevor Wearstler gave a presentation on additions to the park over the past eight years. Some of the many opportunities include recreational offerings, education programs, camping, fishing and boating.
Observer Note: More information on Park District events is available here.
Executive Session - The Commissioners moved into Executive Session at 9:01 am for the purpose of discussing employment of a public employee. They returned at 9:19 with No Action.
Public Comment - Per Geauga Park District practice, no public comment was permitted.
Meeting Adjourned at 9:20
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, July 20, 2026 at 8:30 am.
See the GPD Website for Additional Information and Minutes.
Observer: Mary Heintzelman
Editor: Harry Rees
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Date Submitted: June 28, 2026
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