RJRD board questions need for MOU with Friends
by Sue Serdinak
Oct. 28 RJRD board meeting
The Richfield Joint Recreation District board is at a crossroads regarding its relationship with the Friends of Richfield Heritage Preserve.
A memorandum of understanding between the district and the nonprofit was signed in 2017, two years after Richfield Village and Richfield Township taxpayers approved the purchase of the former Girl Scout camp property. A second MOU was signed in 2019 and expires at the end of 2024.
The Friends assisted in passing the tax measures for the park. They helped apply for a Clean Ohio grant and enlisted the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to facilitate the purchase.
Their goals were clear. They wanted to preserve most of the buildings, camp structures, water-powered mill designed by inventor James Kirby, and Garfield Hall, constructed with a floor built on springs.
Since that beginning, they solicited donations and raised $380,000 to restore the mill as an operating machine. They raised funds for other structures and worked closely with a former park board member, clearing trails, cleaning and dismantling old structures and starting programs involving invasive species and forestry management. They helped obtain $140,000 in state funding for a dam project.
Last year the Friends spent over 8,000 volunteer hours and about $34,000 restoring Amity House so the park could rent it as a bed and breakfast as an adjunct to Lodge rentals.
In recent months, they made extensive repairs to Garfield Hall to prevent further deterioration.
As an independent nonprofit, the Friends have provided monthly project reports, but have not been accountable to the park board regarding their finances, which creates a sticking point for some members of the board. They have not agreed to fundraise for park operating expenses.
Financial dynamics of the park have changed since 2015. Now, there are six paid staff members, including a park director. Park board members are less involved in day-to-day work.
In past meetings, RJRD Board Chairperson Anita Gantner said she wants a revised MOU to require the Friends to do general fundraising for the park. “The Friends are fundraising for projects and not for the park, and that is an odd thing … and that has always been a concern,” she said.
Board member Mark Rosen said his research showed the purpose of most friends groups is fundraising.
The Friends have been successful fundraisers, but do not give the board access to their money.
Board member Mike Lyons said rather than have an MOU with the Friends, agreements for specific projects might be more appropriate. “Under the current agreement, there is no financial accountability [of Friends], so it might show there is no necessity [for it.]” he said.
Board member Dave Wehner said park staff should manage the projects, suggesting an MOU was unnecessary.
Board member Mike Selig said the park’s strategic plan provides direction to work with groups that champion a project. It doesn’t make sense to have an MOU with every group, he said.
He later pointed out that no other groups have applied to champion a building.
“There has been a lot of great work done, and I don’t know that we need an MOU to continue,” said board member Steve McPeake.
Board member Holly Price cautioned that the board should broaden its focus. “I want to think about the park’s needs beyond the buildings,’’ she said. “There are other projects, goals and long-term visions for the park.”
Price acknowledged that the work of the Friends made the park what it is today. “We had no people,’’ she said. “That [original] agreement [with Friends] grew out of that environment. The support and what that agreement did was transformational.”
She suggested that the board step back, see where the park is today, decide what should come next and how the Friends can help. She added that a policy is needed to use the park’s name in fundraising.
During public comments, Friends historian Lynn Richardson read from a brochure of the Friends of Gettysburg,which detailed how that group’s fundraising was directed toward preservation projects and not to operational expenses of the Civil War site.
Friends member Gary LaGuardia said an MOU helps assure donors that projects will be completed and that future park boards will not dismantle the work.
The board agreed to hold further discussions on its relationship with the Friends.
Pay Increase
The board approved paying 10% commission to sales manager Shari Green, retroactively, on Amity House rental fees, when the building is rented in association with an event at the Lodge.
Reports
• Park Director John Piepsny reported that HTZ Construction, a Richfield company, is donating period-sensitive design plans for North House. Price asked if the board had approved a use for the building. Piepsny said he hopes to rent it like the Amity House. The Friends previously stabilized and mothballed North House.
Piepsny also reported that about 1,200 people attended the free Trick or Treat on the Trail. He complimented staff member Susan Czaplicki on organizing the event. He said there were donations that helped offset the costs for the event, including staff time, set up, candy, drinks, cookies, supplies and materials.
He said that WatchDog Video made a 20-minute video of the park during the event.
Piepsny repeated his recommendation that the name Amity House be changed because people associate the name with a horror film, adding that the Bath Attractions home tour would include Amity House next year.
• Administrative Coordinator Polly Wheeler reported that four campsites, three shelters and one cabin were rented last month.
• Czaplicki reported volunteers from St. Albert the Great parish split firewood. University of Akron School of Law students painted the exterior of the park office. Other volunteers worked with the staff to cut firewood and decorate for Trick or Treat on the Trail.
Scouts who attend Valley Forge High School completed park projects: Duane John built four picnic tables and Caitlyn John built a firewood holder.
• Shari Green reported that she gave 25 tours of the Lodge, booked two social events and three weddings in October. Four groups booked Amity House for daytime events. She has started taking bookings for 2026.
• Friends President Corey Ringle said weather-damaged walls, roofing and kitchen paneling in Garfield Hall were removed and ice shields installed. Friends repaired the Chagrin Cabin furnace, resolved a gas leak at Coach House, worked on the mechanics of Kirby Mill and started draining the former swimming pool. They contracted with a company to replace the balcony of Kirby’s Mill and engaged a structural engineer to recommend how to reconstruct the swinging bridge that connects the mill to a trail.
Ringle asked for more time to work on Garfield Hall because the roof has not been replaced. The board approved an extension to June 30, 2025.
• Bob Hooper, vice president of Oviatt House Inc., reported that Judy Bowman resigned as president for personal reasons. He said an electrical company and a plumbing firm have volunteered to do work on the 1836 building. Volunteers are preparing to paint the interior of the building with Sherwin Williams historic colors.
The Friends continue to develop plans for a museum that is engaging and avoids the concept of a traditional, hands-off museum.
They have plans to build a shed to house their historical wagon and plan to install a bathroom using the matching $100,000 Ohio Capital Budget grant. Volunteer hours in the third quarter numbered 300.