Fire Sale

In 1995, the voters of the City of Massillon passed a .3% income tax to fund the city's new parks and recreation district. It was to be run by an independent 5 member parks board. The money was earmarked, by law, only to be used for parks and recreation. The 2.2 million dollar annual budget available for our parks department should have allowed our parks to be cathedrals, and our recreation facilities to be the envy of Stark County.

Small problem. Massillon's Mayor for Life, Frank Cicchinelli, expanded the Legends of Massillon Golf Course from 18 to 27 holes. He accrued a lot of debt doing it. The annual debt payments are staggering, and the golf course could not financially support itself. But our Mayor for Life had a plan.

The mayor proposed merging the unprofitable, debt ridden golf course with the Parks Department, because the Parks Department had a steady income stream, the .3% income tax approved by the voters. On December 16, 2002, the week before Christmas, when the taxpayers were focused on holiday preparations, and not city government, the mayor had his rubber stamps on council vote to approve the merger. The vote was 7 in favor, and two opposed. The two voting against this scam were the two Republicans on council, Claudette Istnick and Jim Filhour. The seven Democratic council members voted for the merger. Among these seven are current councilman Ron Mang, curent Council President Glenn Gamber, Safety Service Director Mike Loudiana, and City Treasurer Paul Lambert. Gamber, Loudiana, and Lambert were councilmen at that time.

Our Mayor for Life claimed that the merger was "not a big scheme to have the parks department cover the golf course's expenses" (The Repository, December 17, 2002).

Of course, it was a big scheme to use parks department money to cover the golf course's expenses. And just this year, council rubber stamps David Hersher, David McCune, Ron Mang, and Larry Slagle, with Council President Glenn Gamber breaking the tie, committed another $199,000 park tax dollars to buy the restaurant at the golf course. Now, the city has no business plan for their new restaurant, which is now nothing more than a glorified hot dog stand, but the mayor wanted them to buy it, and they did.

Instead of having well maintained parks, our parks are a disaster from a lack of proper upkeep and basic maintenance. Parks Director Kenn Kaminski claims the problems at our parks are the result of park vandals. The Massillon Review believes the problem with the parks is a lack of basic maintenance and upkeep because park tax dollars have been siphoned off to buy a restaurant with no business plan, and to prop up a failing golf course. We believe our readers can best decide who is telling the truth.

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-search-of-park-vandals.html

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/we-see-light.html

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/buy-me-some-peanuts-and-cracker-jack.html

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/we-will-not-rest-until-job-is-done.html

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/vandals-on-loose.html

www.massillonreview.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-see-park-vandals.html

Today, the Independent has reported what most city insiders already knew. City Law Director Perry Stergios is busily researching a list of parks our Mayor for Life may wish to sell off.

"Parks board member Timothy Muzi has asked Law Director Perry Stergios to research which parks have deed restrictions that would prohibit their sale or future use, Stergios said. Kaminski said that he, Muzi, and Mayor Frank Cicchinelli met three months ago to discuss potential park property that could be sold" (The Independent, August 19, 2010).

Timothy Muzi, of course, was appointed to the Parks Board by Massillon's Mayor for Life, Frank Cicchinelli.

Three months ago? It would appear they chose not to share with the citizenry that they were planning a fire sale of our parks system. Why would our beloved mayor sell off our parks?

Well, he is facing an almost million dollar budget shortfall this year, and a million and a half budget shortfall next year, which happens to be his election year. He can sell off our parks to help plug his budget hole.

He really doesn't have enough parks tax money to properly maintain all these parks anyways, what with propping up the golf course and expanding into the restaurant business.

And of course his council rubber stamps will cheerfully approve the dismantling of our city's parks system.

The joke, of course, will be on Massillon's taxpayers. We will still pay the .3% income tax for "parks and recreation." The mayor can sell off our parks, and continue to use our park tax money to subsidize his failing golf course.

And no one can stop him.