Laserfiche WebLink
Minutes of a Meeting of the <br />North Olmsted Parks and Recreation Commission <br />April 6, 2009 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />representatives from the Scouts a few Saturdays ago. The only one that showed up was Ernie Oergel, <br />a Ranger with the Metroparks. He represented All Scouts. We walked the area. It’s been agreed. <br />The Rec will take down about 80 percent of the existing fence on Diamond #1 right now. The <br />volunteers are taking it down; it will be put away and put back up after All Scouts are finished. Tim <br />Murphy can have his baseball team play the rest of the season with that fence. Mr. DiSalvo wanted <br />this clarified to end all rumors that the Rec was being difficult to work with or that we were forcing <br />them to do something they didn’t want to do. All Scouts will continue. They’re fine with the small <br />portion of the fence that will be up. It will be taken down for their event and right afterwards it will be <br />put back up. Tim will be able to play his games and not have to cancel his season at North Olmsted <br />Park and not have to find another ball park in the summer. It all worked out. It came down to a lack <br />of communication. <br /> <br />Mr. Scarl said that, in regard to the issue with the fence, if you check the record, John Dailey and <br />Council will find that it never was about All Scouts Weekend; it was about the neighbors. The <br />neighbors do not want that fence up all summer. There are minutes that reflect that; Council has <br />already talked about that and how they’re all getting around just leaving it up when it’s supposed to be <br />taken down. That was the agreement that was made, probably with Hot Stove, the schools, and the <br />residents: that the fence would come down no later than two or three days after baseball season. Mr. <br />Scarl did not know how it all got changed. It’s NOT an All Scouts matter – it’s a neighbor matter. <br /> <br />Mr. Lasko agreed. He ratified what Mr. Scarl just said. He thinks All Scouts was used as an example <br />of the types of activities that might otherwise be interfered with if the fence remained up. The premise <br />for the removal of the fence was in order to accommodate and make sure that during the Ohio Athletic <br />Association season there was a field that would be as close as possible to what some of the other <br />surrounding schools might have. The top portion of the field was dramatically improved as well as the <br />fence was then installed to provide for safety, predicated upon the fact that it was going to be removed <br />right at the end of the season; that it was done just for the Ohio High School season, not for the <br />summer season with the view that Hot Stove programs would be more than adequate for playing <br />without the need of a fence and the residents that not only adjoin the park but also the people in the <br />community would not see the fence in the green space for the entire summer because the rest of the <br />th <br />baseball season goes until at least the 4 of July. Mr. Lasko again stated that he ratifies what Mr. <br />Scarl said because that’s an end run on the understanding and the agreement that was struck in order <br />to even permit the fence in the first place. <br /> <br />Mr. Scarl said he believes that the Administration should look into what was previously documented <br />about this matter because this is going to cause problems. Mr. Lasko continued that if they want to <br />change the understanding or terms upon which that fence was installed, then go through the entire <br />process, which means, in theory, that it has to come back here to the Parks and Recreation <br />Commission; perhaps not, however, he thought it does. He was sure that everything was done with <br />the best of intentions and said that he knows that Tim Murphy is a very honorable man and has the <br />best interests of the kids at heart. At the same time, it’s a community park, and the sentiments seem <br />Page 4 <br /> <br />