Moose Lodge donates $9,000; council advances tree-dedication program and ballfield renaming

Taylor Tenecco, community service department assistant, told the committee that Moose Lodge No. 1744, Michael Repas and the Associates of Kids nonprofit donated $9,000 to support Seven Hills programs.

"Tonight, I would like to thank Marsha Hecker and the Moose Lodge number 17 44, as well as Michael Repas and the association associates of kids nonprofit for their generous donation of $9,000 to the 7 hills community service department," Tenecco said, adding the funds will support the city food pantry, the children's Christmas party and the city's adopt-a-family program.

The donation was presented to council members, who thanked the donors and community services staff for the partnership. Council praised the gift as directly supporting seasonal and ongoing services for local children and families.

During Parks & Recreation, Director Berger outlined a proposed Seven Hills "legacy" tree-dedication program that would plant and care for Ohio-native saplings, issue small placards for dedications and manage the program through the parks department's software. "Basically, it's like a legacy tree program where the city would invest in some small saplings and trees and get them to grow for a year or 2," Director Berger said, describing plans to scale the effort to include benches or other dedications over time. Berger also thanked Park Supervisor Michael Klubnick and FirstEnergy for an earlier tree giveaway of about 120 trees.

Council members signaled support for the tree-dedication concept but said no formal approval was needed tonight; staff will refine logistics and circulate details to the committee for future consideration.

Councilman Morrow also proposed renaming the ball field at Meyer Park for former Mayor Richard Gannon and provided a biographical summary of Gannon's service. Morrow "moved to put this on the agenda for our next meeting, as an emergency," and the motion was seconded and adopted by voice vote.

What happens next: The tree-dedication program will be revised by staff and returned to the Parks & Recreation committee for review; the renaming will appear as a resolution on the next city council agenda under an emergency designation.