Board of Park Commissioners

Cleveland Metroparks

Environment

Parks

Thursday, July 18, 2024
8:00 a.m. — 10:00 a.m. EDT

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4101 Fulton Pkwy Cleveland, OH 44144 (Directions)

Cleveland Metroparks Administrative Offices, Rzepka Board Room (or join on WebEx)

Note: You can attend this meeting in person or remotely through WebEx at the time of the meeting. There won’t be a recording to watch later. The meeting could run closer to an hour.

Reminder for Documenters: We add two hours of pay for attending in person to document.

Note: You may find it helpful to record audio of the meeting on a recording device or on your phone, but it is not required for the assignment. If asked why you’re there, you can introduce yourself and say:

“I am a Documenter trained to monitor public meetings in the public interest. My work is made publicly available in collaboration with Signal Cleveland’s Cleveland Documenters program. For more information visit cleveland.documenters.org/.“

Cleveland Metroparks is a separate political subdivision of the state of Ohio. The Park District is governed by Cleveland Metroparks Board of Park Commissioners, composed of three citizens who serve three-year terms without compensation. Board members are appointed by the presiding Judge of the Probate Court of Cuyahoga County.

The commissioners:

Dan T. Moore, President
Bruce G. Rinker, Vice President
Yvette M. Ittu, Vice President

Appointing Authority Board of Park Commissioner: Judge Anthony J. Russo

Agenda: We will share when it is available, but keep an eye out on this webpage.

WebEx option: We will share when it is available.

Parking: Parking is free in the lot.

Feedback from past coverage: Documenters who have covered this meeting before noted that the board provided helpful materials in person and said board members seemed to be familiar with the agenda items, as they went through them without much debate or questioning. They also said parking and finding the building was easy, and that there is plenty of comfortable seating in the board room.

Find Documenters’ past coverage here: https://cleveland.documenters.org/reporting/?agency=962

Find agendas, minutes, presentations, and audio of past board meetings here: https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/about/cleveland-metroparks-organization/board-of-park-commissioners/board-meeting-archives

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Cleveland - OH Documenters Team

Note-taking by Stacie Simon

Cleveland-area students get hands-on learning at West Creek Reservation

View notes

Live reporting by Gennifer Harding-Gosnell

Zoo staff reports on kangaroo research

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_

Good morning, Cleveland! I'll be covering the @clevemetroparks Board of Trustees meeting today at 8 a.m. for @cledocumenters.
#CLEdocumenters
While we're waiting, here is a bumblebottom to help cleanse your timeline.

06:57 AM Jul 18, 2024 CDT

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 2/18

Here's the agenda. These meetings are available to watch on Webex, or you need to go in-person.

cleveland.documenters.org/documents/agen…

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 3/18

Think we got something wrong? Send any enquiries on the meeting or these tweets to @cledocumenters or email us at cledocumenters@gmail.com.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 4/18

@cledocumenters The meeting begins with the swearing in of three new Cleveland Metroparks Police officers.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 5/18

@cledocumenters Metroparks CFO Wade Steen presents the financial report. The parks' profit-making entities are mostly up in revenue. The Wildwood marina is down in revenue according to Steen because the former Hornblowers restaurant barge has now been moved there:

clevelandmetroparks.com/about/planning…

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 6/18

Director of Parks Jim Kamps worked his way up from handyman to director with 41 years of service with the Metroparks. He's being honoured now by the Board of Trustees as he retires.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 7/18

Chief Planning & Design Officer Sean McDermott is explaining several amendments for the board to consider for approval, many related to construction at the zoo and land purchases in the eastern suburbs.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 8/18

A public commenter is asking for disclosure of expenditures, saying revenues are always shown but no breakdowns of how the money is spent. She also criticizes the Metroparks' response to the shooting at Edgewater.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 9/18

Stephanie Kutsko tells the board about a program with @CLEMetroSchools that brought students to the West Creek Reservation to engage with science professionals on watershed preservation & do the work themselves.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 10/18

@CLEMetroSchools The STREAM initiative introduces students to conservation careers and is expected to continue.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 11/18

@CLEMetroSchools Metroparks' Research Curator Noah Dunham explains a project the Zoo Science program is working on with colobine monkeys.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 12/18

@CLEMetroSchools Research Curator Dr. Diana Koester explained a project the Zoo Science team worked on with tree kangaroos to help identify causes of low breeding in the species.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 13/18

@CLEMetroSchools Noah Dunham talks about a gorilla research program the team is involved in looking at behavior issues and heart disease.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 14/18

@CLEMetroSchools Here's some of the data on the tree kangaroo research project:

clevelandzoosociety.org/z/2024/04/22/t…

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 15/18

@CLEMetroSchools Commissioner Yvette Ittu asks how the group's research compares to animals in the wild. Diana Koester gives examples of how the work they do in a controlled environment teaches them how to assist animals in the wider world.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 16/18

The Commissoners get an update on grant money approved by the U.S. DOT to build connectors on the east side of Cleveland.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 17/18

Here's the details of the construction, one trail connects Slavic Village to downtown.

Gennifer Harding-Gosnell @GenniferwithaG_ 18/18

The board is now moving into executive session to discuss land acquisition. This concludes my coverage of today's @clevemetroparks Board of Park Commissioners meeting for @cledocumenters. Thanks for following along!

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