A Geauga County probate judge is moving to remove two members of the park district's board of commissioners, and neither the court nor the men themselves can say exactly why. Board president Ray Guarino and fellow commissioner John Ralph are both facing possible ouster by Judge Timothy Grendell, who appoints and oversees the five-member board that governs the Geauga Park District.
Court administrator Kimberly Laurie confirmed that Grendell is considering replacing both Guarino and Ralph, according to Cleveland.com. Guarino, who serves as the district's board president, said he still doesn't know the reason he's being pushed out. He told the outlet that Grendell asked him to resign two days before he actually received a formal removal notice, and that he declined the judge's request.
Ralph holds a seat on the board and also serves as one of Grendell's constables. Guarino's case is further along: Grendell has scheduled a hearing for Guarino at 7 a.m. on Nov. 9, giving him a chance to respond before the judge's letter says his tenure would end at noon that same day.
A Letter Heavy on Concerns, Light on Specifics
According to the letter cited in the Cleveland.com report, Grendell pointed to the board's sustainability and its ability to work with the park district director as his concerns — but he did not lay out any specific incidents or further explanation behind those words. Guarino said he received the removal notice after spending Oct. 29 interviewing candidates for an unrelated matter before the district.
Guarino pushed back hard on the implication that something is wrong on the board. He praised his fellow commissioners and district employees and said he wants to see the parks continue thriving. He told Cleveland.com he intends to attend the Nov. 9 hearing, pending consultation with his attorney.
Fellow commissioner Sally Lamarca, who said she had not received any removal notice of her own, told the outlet she was unaware of any problems among board members or with Executive Director John Oros. She described the prospect of commissioners being removed as something that came out of nowhere, and said that removing board members without a stated reason would not be ethical. Lamarca offered one theory of her own regarding Ralph, suggesting his possible removal may stem from his interest in becoming the district's next executive director.
Timing Collides With a Leadership Search
The removal proceedings arrive just as the Geauga Park District is searching for a new top administrator. Oros announced earlier in October that he will retire at the end of 2026 after more than three decades with the agency, according to a separate Cleveland.com report. Oros began with the district as a seasonal land steward in 1991, became a full-time maintenance employee in 1994, and later served as natural resource manager and operations director before rising to executive director. He said his decision to retire reflected goals he and his family had set.
The board has assigned Guarino, as president, and Vice President Howard Bates to consider candidates and recommend Oros' successor to the full Board of Park Commissioners. The court has not explained whether the proposed removals of Guarino and Ralph are connected in any way to that search, and Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer said they had requested an explanation from the court along with information about potential replacements.
What Ohio Law Allows — and Requires
Ohio law does give a probate judge the authority to remove a park commissioner, but it isn't unchecked. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545.06, removal is at the judge's discretion — either on a complaint filed with the court or on the judge's own motion — but the statute requires at least 10 days' notice and a full opportunity to be heard. The law also requires that any removal order state its reasons and be entered into the probate court's records, and the judge appoints a replacement commissioner to fill out the remainder of the removed member's term.
Geauga Park District commissioners serve staggered three-year terms without compensation, according to the Geauga Park District, which notes that the probate judge appoints the full five-member citizen board. Grendell's own term as judge is set to end in February 2027, and he cannot seek re-election because Ohio bars people aged 70 or older from running in judicial elections.
Grendell returned to the bench in June 2026 after a six-month suspension stemming from his handling of a 2020 custody dispute, in which he was found to have improperly jailed two teenagers who did not want to visit their estranged father. Grendell has denied wrongdoing in that matter.
A Board With a History of Turnover
This isn't the first time the Geauga Park District's board has seen upheaval. A 2015 report from Cleveland.com found that since Grendell was appointed judge in 2011, the board had changed at least three times and had a vacancy as of that November — part of a period when a group called Protect Geauga Parks circulated a petition alleging Grendell had substantially harmed the district and urging the Ohio Legislature to remove him from the bench. That petition had collected 665 signatures, with organizers hoping to reach 1,000, at a time when the district was described as a 19-park system spanning 10,000 acres.
More recently, commissioner Jolene Carnabuci resigned from the board after three years of service, citing changes in her personal and business responsibilities, according to Chagrin Valley Today. Grendell had appointed her to the board, with her term beginning in June 2022. And as recently as January 2024, Oros received a positive evaluation from commissioners, with Guarino telling the board at the time, “I think you and your staff do a wonderful job,” per the Geauga County Maple Leaf. The available evidence does not establish whether any of those earlier episodes are connected to the removal proceedings now facing Guarino and Ralph.
