Do the Right Thing

In theory, the City of Massillon Parks and Recreation Department is run by a five member board (Commonly referred to as The Parks Board). It is a joint district between the City of Massillon and the Massillon City Board of Education. Each board member is appointed for a five year term. The Massillon School Board appoints two members, and the Mayor, with the approval of City Council, appoints three members. The Mayor has the upper hand in this arrangement because he appoints a majority of the board members. The Parks and Recreation Department is funded by a .3% income tax, passed by the voters of Massillon in 1995, specifically for parks and recreation. This tax generates more than $2.2 million dollars per year.

Parks Board member Margy Vogt just resigned. She was appointed by the Mayor, and the Mayor now gets to appoint her replacement. In late 2008, juvenile delinquents set fire to the chapel at the old state hospital grounds. The property had been purchased by the Parks Board, and the chapel was insured by the Parks Board, using Parks Board money. The insurance claim paid out $490,000. The Mayor had this parks money deposited in the City's general fund, not with the Parks Department, which paid for the insurance policy. This incident was part of the taxpayers lawsuit ruled on by Judge Haas. Judge Haas ruled in Mayor Cicchinelli's favor. The City has the right to raid the Parks Department money, even though the Parks Tax was supposed to be used for parks and recreation. The Chairman of the Parks Board at the time was Joe Luckring. He was appointed by Mayor Cicchinelli to serve on the Parks Board. Luckring wrote a letter to Mayor Cicchinelli asking that the money be returned to the parks, where it rightfully belonged. Cicchinelli had a better idea. He replaced Luckring as a member of the Parks Board. He appointed Ron Pribich, a well known friend, confidant, and rubber stamp for Cicchinelli. People believe Pribich, unlike Luckring, would never contradict Massillon's Mayor for Life, even if it was the right thing to do.

According to State Law, City Council must approve a mayor's appointment to the Parks Board. Massillon City Council found the appointment of Ron Pribich so detestable, that they rejected it by a vote of 6 - 3. Council members Manson, Hersher and McCune stuck with the Mayor, as they always do. Mayor Cicchinelli argued that he didn't need Council's approval, because Massillon has a local law that stated he didn't need Council's approval. This also went to Court. Judge John Haas ruled that the appointment stood, and that Massillon's local law trumped Ohio's state law. Pribich's appointment was legal. City Council then changed the local law, requiring the Mayor to get Council's approval on future appointments.

This brings us up to today. Mayor Cicchinelli may now appoint Margy Vogt's replacement, but it must be approved by Massillon City Council. Speculation is that Massillon's Mayor for Life will appoint another rubber stamp. You don't get to be Mayor for Life by having your appointees contradict you, like Joe Luckring did. Council rightly rejected Ron Pribich. We beg Massillon City Council to require the Mayor to appoint a competent, independent person who has the best interests of the Parks Department at heart. Please, for the community's sake, do the right thing. Put the taxpayers above any personal loyalty to our Mayor for Life. Force the Mayor to appoint someone who will do a good job, not a person who will be just another rubber stamp.