YOUNGSTOWN — Law Director Jeff Limbian told about 100 Save the Mill Creek Park Deer participants Tuesday that there are ways to make their voices heard, and it involves Ohio legislators.

Limbian said the city will file legal action against the parks board if it becomes necessary, but he encouraged the group to continue its efforts to hold the parks board accountable, even when the laws regarding park boards do not favor accountability.

“I think it’s really necessary that you, as advocates, continue the drum beat because there is nothing a judge, a politician, someone answerable to being elected responds to (more than) than voters who continue to let them know how they feel,” Limbian said.

“I don’t know if you realize what you’ve done here, but your signs, your activity, your collectivity is making a difference. It really is,” he said.

He urged the group to persist in its efforts to get the attention of state legislators to change the laws regarding appointment of park board members “because I don’t think the law is clear enough on so many levels. I don’t believe you have enough of a voice.

“Unless judges hear, including (Mahoning County Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu), who I have the ultimate respect for, I don’t think he recognizes how serious all of you are and how serious this problem is. I think if he did there might be a different response as to how this is being handled with the board,” Limbian said.

Rusu has authority to appoint the park board members, but only the park board has the authority to hire the executive director, Limbian said.

“I think you need to let him know, and I think he would want to hear from you that you’re very displeased with the rubber-stamp of the board and how their executive director is basically thumbing his nose at you.”

“The day-to-day operations have to be run by the executive director,” Limbian said. “We would generally rubber stamp whatever the executive director … wanted because he or she knew what they wanted to do, and they seemed to be doing OK, so that’s what would happen,” Limbian said of boards he was on.

Limbian said Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown has “made it very clear” that there is more than enough shooting taking place throughout the city “where people are doing bad things to each other, (Brown) said we are not going to compound the situation by allowing shooting of any kind to happen in the park.”

The city told the parks board earlier this year that it would not allow the parks board to reduce the deer herd in the park with guns because the city has an ordinance that prevents shooting in the city limits.

Limbian encouraged the group to continue to let Rusu, park board members, MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young and local legislators know how the feel about the deer being killed and the lack of accountability the park board and Young has to the public.

“When you have one person with unfettered control blowing $18 million for the Youngstown school system that wasn’t necessary, the same thing can happen to the park because you have the same situation where you have one person with unfettered control of lots of millions of dollars,” Limbian said, comparing former Youngstown Superintendent Justin Jennings to Young.

“I would suggest to you that we need to make the legislators put in accountability in the way park board members get those seats.”

He also said the laws should make it possible for the public to have a voice when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issues a permit for something like a deer kill.

He said his investigation of the matter suggests there is “nothing like a hearing for those ODNR permits.”

The group’s own lawyer, Marc Dann, said he is working toward a possible taxpayer lawsuit against the MetroParks, but would not file something if Youngstown does. “If (Youngstown) wants us to run with the ball, we are prepared to do that,” Dann said.

Dann agreed with Limbian that the laws that govern appointment of park board members are “very insulating from any public accountability at all. One guy does the appointing, and that’s Judge Rusu.”

erunyan@vindy.com