COITSVILLE — The Mill Creek MetroParks confirmed Wednesday that its Board of Commissioners on Monday voted to sell the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve in Coitsville Township.

MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young was asked if he could confirm that there has been no sale yet and the preserve remains open to the public, and his director of community engagement, Jaime Yohman, responded to the email, confirming those things.

She also confirmed on Young’s behalf that the sale is happening because of the years-long conflict between the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society and the MetroParks.

“The issue with the pond and wetlands at McGuffey has been an ongoing battle between the MetroParks and the historical society for several years now. This should end that battle,” Young stated.

The statement added that the vote to sell the preserve was “the first step in a potentially lengthy process,” and the Mill Creek MetroParks does not know who is buying the preserve or for how much.

Shortly after Monday’s meeting, Richard Scarsella, chairman of the board of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, issued a news release stating that the vote was unanimous to sell the preserve, which is a National Historic Landmark.

The release added that Scarsella’s lawyer would be sending a letter to Mahoning County Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu, the appointing authority for the MetroParks Board of Commissioners, “requesting the removal of all of the commissioners, due to the approval of the sale.”

The release states that the “impending sale is denying taxpayers of Coitsville Township, Campbell and Youngstown’s northeast side … a nearby park facility, despite paying the countywide park levy.”

He noted that those areas of the county “are heavily populated by minorities, low income, senior citizens, transportation-challenged and disabled” people.

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 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 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.”

One organization that has been pleased with the Mill Creek MetroParks owning and operating the preserve are the Coitsville Township trustees, said Coitsville Township Trustee Phyllis Johnson.

The trustees passed a resolution in May of 2022 supporting the MetroParks in its operation of the preserve.