Say it ain't so, Moe, Say it ain't so!

Park Board member Thomas "Moe" Rickett is unhappy.

He is unhappy that the Park Board is stuck subsidizing the debt from the Legends of Massillon Golf Course.

“We have given our fair share, and more, to the city from the tax money that was voted on by the citizens of our city for parks and recreation — money that was solely intended for that purpose only,” (Thomas "Moe" Rickett, The Independent, February 10, 2012).

And we agree.

The golf course expansion and subsequent scheme to dump the resultant staggering debt on the Parks Department was one of the larger debacles of the Cicchinelli era.

And there were many.

But Frank Cicchinelli didn't do this all by himself.

He needed help.

Back in December of 2002, Massillon's then Extraordinary Mayor for Life, King Francis the Eternal, Lord Sovereign of the City, had a little problem. He just expanded the Legends of Massillon golf course from 18 holes to 27 holes. The problem was, in expanding the course, they essentially rebuilt the entire course, and the price tag for the 9 hole expansion was more than it cost to built the entire course the first time around.

The golf course debt was staggering, and Cicchinelli had no means to pay for it.

The debt was so large that the golf course would never turn a profit, and be an eternal drag on city finances.

But ever the shrewd manipulator, he was a man with a plan.

Cicchinelli would unload the golf course, and more importantly its unsustainable debt, on the Parks Department.

In 1995, the residents of Massillon passed a .3% income tax for parks and recreation.

The citizens naively believed their tax dollars would be spent on parks and recreation.

Frank Cicchinelli didn't care about what was promised to the people, all he saw was a way to wash his hands of the golf course's red ink.

He wanted to use the parks tax money to pay for the golf course.

He would first need the "Independent" Parks and Recreation Board to agree to this boondoggle before he could sell his plan to city council.

Would they be that stupid?

Certainly.

First the Parks Board.

Cicchinelli made them a promise.

"The Mayor explained that the merging of these two areas will maximize resources of the current departments and provide an organizational structure which will promote efficient operations giving top notch service to the public. The Mayor believes this decision now, in the long term, will be beneficial to everyone, and he stated that they promised the citizens that the city would not subsidize this golf course" (Parks and Recreation Board minutes, November 14, 2002).

It was all about "maximizing resources" and "giving top notch service to the public."

For review;

The mayor appoints three people to the "Independent" Parks Board.

The Massillon Board of Education appoints the other two.

It appears over the years that Frank Cicchinelli's key criteria for appointments to the Parks Board was the extent of a person's willingness to do whatever the mayor wanted done. Hence their constant referral as "The Park Board Lackeys."

Back in 2002, the "Park Board Lackeys" voted to merge the golf course with the Parks Department, and be on the hook for the golf course debt.

Which was expected.

But they were not alone.

This was not a 3 to 2 vote.

They were joined in support by School Board appointee Thomas "Moe" Rickett.

Moe voted to do this.

He authorized this scam.

He supported Frank Cicchinelli's scheme.

And now he isn't happy.

But guess what?

He has only one person to blame.

Thomas "Moe" Rickett

The chickens have come home to roost, and it is Moe Rickett inside the hen house.