Note: Since this story published, the Mansfield Parks Department made an agreement with a local group, allowing them to build and maintain a DIY skatepark at Liberty Park. Read more on that in the following stories: Skaters create their own park in Mansfield | Skate Mansfield/Skate Ohio readying to enter 2024 with momentum
MANSFIELD — If there was still water in the Liberty Park pool, it may have gotten a little heated Thursday evening.
About 60 residents responded to an invitation from Mansfield leaders to share their thoughts on the city’s parks in general — and on Liberty Park in particular.
The meeting was conducted right next to the former pool, which closed two years ago due to major maintenance issues. It was the last public pool in the city, a fact not lost on many of those present.
Residents dove directly into the deep end during the hour-long session. They offered wide-ranging criticisms. They suggested improvements and changes. They asked questions. They pointed fingers and demanded answers.
Mainly, most made it clear they are not happy, a message clearly heard by parks and recreation Supt. Mark Abrams and several members of City Council in attendance.
Mayor Tim Theaker, whose third and final term in office ends in four months, didn’t attend the meeting at the Grace Street park on the city’s northeast side.
(Below are photos from the public meeting on Thursday evening at Liberty Park along Grace Street on the city’s northeast side.)
‘I got that people are frustrated’
Afterward, At-large Councilwoman Stephanie Zader, who presided over most of the meeting, said she heard the residents.
“I got that people are frustrated, that they don’t have a lot of trust in their leadership in the city. They want to see more accountability. They want to see things happen. We knew coming into this that they just want to see change. They want have some hope in what’s going to happen in the city. And I hope to be able to provide that,” Zader said.
Abrams opened the meeting by discussing upcoming improvements at Liberty Park yet this year, including a new drinking fountain, culvert repairs and picnic tables. He said the city may seek to dredge the pond in 2024.
Residents then joined the discussion.
A new pavilion was suggested. Seeking outside grants and setting up a park foundation was brought up. Improved security and cameras to prevent vandalism and violence in the park. A new pool. Restoring the baseball field. A skatepark. A dog park. A bandstand for summer music events.
And more.
There were no immediate answers from Abrams and council members, other than pointing out funds are limited and hard decisions have to be made.
That didn’t sit well with some in attendance who want the city to invest more money into their neighborhood park, even if that means less going to other areas.
“My question with you is all these people are here because they’re concerned about this park, okay? All you people up front, remotely work for us. And if you ask everybody here, they want you to do something for us. There should be no discussion,” one man said.
Zader responded, “That’s why we’re here.”
‘Invest in the parks or invest in the police department’
Another man said the city parks have to provide more options for youth.
“As a city, we either are going to have to invest in the parks or invest in the police department. Make a choice. Because these kids on the streets are more savage than anyone else that grew up in our generation. They don’t mind putting a gun to your head and shooting you. They don’t … and they go home and go to sleep at night knowing that happened,” he said.
A woman in the audience agreed.
“We take things away from these kids. They have nothing to do. They’re not doing what we want them to do. They’re not being productive because we as adults decided ‘No, we don’t need it. You don’t need that. Let’s take it away.’
“I’m not from Mansfield, but I was raised here. I’m from Cleveland and I know what the violence look like. I’ve seen it firsthand. And every time we take something away, we don’t bring nothing back. We don’t have nothing for these kids. And it’s time out for us to stop talking about it and do something,” she said.
Another resident, who said he works in a prison, agreed the focus should be on young people.
“If you don’t do something for these youth, they’re coming to see me. I work at the prison and that’s where they’re at right now. They’re 18 and 17 and I’m telling you, they going to come see me,” he said.
‘Master parks’ plan not discussed during session
Two notable issues were not discussed during the meeting.
The city’s $29 million “master plan” for its parks, approved by City Council in 2020, was not mentioned by anyone from the city or any of the residents. No specific projects were approved by council at the time. No dollars were authorized.
It was merely a vote showing legislative support for the plan.
“That was intentional on my part. We weren’t here to tell them what we were going to do. My intention of this meeting was to hear from the people about what they wanted and that’s what I kept trying to go back to,” Zader said.
“What do you want to see in the parks? Because I was actually kind of frustrated with the master plan process. We did put the word out a lot. But the number of people that gave feedback on that, I was disappointed.
“I think I would’ve liked to see more public meetings like this. Maybe frustration hadn’t grown to the point to motivate people to come out yet. But I didn’t want to talk about (the master plna) because I wanted to hear what they wanted in their community,” Zader said.
There was also no discussion about the potential for spending any general fund dollars on the city’s parks system in the future under the next administration.
Currently, the parks department only revenue comes from the voter-approved PRIDE tax, which has been averaging around $850,000 per year. That tax may bring in just over $1 million in 2024, Abrams said Thursday.
The master plan had improvements spelled out in all of the parks. That included an $8 million aquatic facility at Liberty Park, which at that time was home to the city’s only remaining, albeit aging, public pool, which had opened in 1938.
Theaker proposed and City Council agreed in 2022 to ask voters to approve a quarter-percent income tax issue increase designated solely for capital improvements for the parks and recreation department.
If it had been approved, the four-year tax would have generated a total of $15 to $16 million, enough to build the new aquatics center and begin to fund other improvements found in the master plan.
The issue was placed on the May 2022 primary election ballot. Abrams said its passage was key to park improvements. But 55 percent of voters rejected the notion with about 18 percent of the city’s eligible voters participating.
At this point, the next mayor would have to propose — and council would need to approve — any additional funding for the parks in order to achieve major improvements in the system.
Abrams has said most of his department’s annual budget goes for personnel needed to mow and maintain the parks in their current form.
He said Thursday he would likely seek more money in the parks budget for 2024, a request Zader said she would consider.
“I have made it clear to all of the department heads in the city that if they come to me and they say, ‘This is what I want,’ (then), I’ll ask that question in council. They’re welcome to come to me and say, ‘I get an $860,000 budget, but I’d like $2 million.’ And when budget time comes or when we have the right opportunity, I’ll bring it up,” Zader said.
At the end of the meeting, Abrams and others promised more such sessions in the near future. He asked anyone with ideas and suggestions to email him at mabrams@ci.mansfield.oh.us.
