Fostoria council approves forming parks board

FOSTORIA — Fostoria City Council on Tuesday night approved an ordinance for the establishment of a parks board — something the city has not had in several years.Mayor Don Mennel said after the meeting that the board — "an advisory board (that) will help us with the direction of our parks" — will be appointed in the coming weeks and is scheduled to begin its work on Aug. 1."I think it will be good for Fostoria," Mennel said. "I think our parks are a really important part of the city."The park board will oversee operations at Foundation Park, City Park, Gray Park, Jackson Park, Iron Triangle Rail Park, Portage Park, Jackson Park, Harmon Park and the Buckley Street Courts, as well as Fountain Cemetery and the trails around the reservoirs.The ordinance says the board's responsibilities will include the preparation of a five-year, capital-improvement program, make recommendations for grant applications; develop and continually review a systemic maintenance system, make recommendations to administration on budget proposals and recommend landscape architecture and design.The board will consist of eight members, with Mennel chairing and Safety Service Director Eric Keckler serving as vice chair. The mayor will appoint five members, subject to city-council approval, and Council President Brian Shaver will appoint a council member to the board.Mennel said he will present his appointments to council at its July 15 meeting."I'm hoping we can attract at least one member who has experience on, perhaps, the Seneca County park board, so that they bring to us the ideas of what park boards do, how they function and how they operate."Mennel said the near future will not include the hiring or park administration or staff due to budget constraints, which are overseen by the state auditor's office."We're still in fiscal emergency," the mayor said, referring to the financial tag the state applied to the city in 2016, "and labor costs are a major part of our budget. Adding more people creates problems that we can't control. No, I really don't see that happening in the near future."Council also waived the three-reading rule and passed the appropriation of $10,000 for soil testing of the fuel tanks at Fostoria Metropolitan Airport.