YOUNGSTOWN — Mill Creek MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young confirmed Wednesday that sale of the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve in Coitsville Township was on the agenda for the MetroParks board meeting Monday.

The meeting never took place, however, because there were not enough board members available to have a quorum, Young said. He said he cannot discuss who the potential buyer is or how close the MetroParks may be to completing a sale.

He added, “Due to the ongoing legal case involving Richard Scarsella, president of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, we will not be offering any comments relating to the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve at this time. The Preserve remains open and available for all to visit and enjoy.”

Scarsella filed a lawsuit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in December 2023 naming Young as defendant. The suit alleges Young made false, defamatory statements about Scarsella. The lawsuit is pending with a trial date of Nov. 18.

Scarsella, chairman of the board of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, has been in a battle with Young and the MetroParks over the condition of the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve for a couple of years. Scarsella said Wednesday he was disappointed to learn of the possible sale.

“We’re disappointed. However, if they are selling it to, perhaps, the (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) or a nature conservancy, that might be a better fit than Mill Creek MetroParks.”

Scarsella has provided The Vindicator with numerous letters in recent years signed by organizations such as the Mahoning County commissioners, then-U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, the Campbell City Schools, the Coitsville Township trustees and the Ohio Conference of the NAACP. The letters urged the Mill Creek MetroParks to restore the pond and dock at the nature preserve.

During the summer of 2024, the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society and Mahoning County commissioners wrote to the Mill Creek MetroParks, urging the MetroParks, which owns the wildlife preserve, to “support Mr. Scarsella” and the McGuffey Historical Society “in having this landmark restored to its original historical integrity.”

The letter mentions the McGuffey Historical Society’s “Pond Restoration Proposal,” which was submitted by Next Nature Environmental Consultants and was included with the letter. The June 10, 2024, proposal was for a “comprehensive project to restore the McGuffey Family Pond, transforming it into a vital kettle bog habitat.”

When Young responded to a request for comment on the letter and proposal, he said, “We are in receipt of the letter dated July 18, 2024, from the Mahoning County commissioners. The area in question located (in) the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve is a category II wetlands and provides many benefits to water quality and are critical natural systems that we serve to protect.”

He said it is the position of the MetroParks that the area in question will remain as it is.

Scarsella was elected Mahoning County recorder last November.