MAYFIELD, Ohio — More than 35 well-wishers attended Monday’s Village Council meeting with one main objective — to salute former parks and recreation director William “Bill” Thomas upon his retirement.
Council passed a resolution that night thanking Thomas for his 18 years of service and the accomplishments made during that time.
“Bill was the genesis of our recreation program,” Mayor Brenda Bodnar said in appreciation of Thomas. “He built it up out of the ashes to what it is today.”
Thomas was hired by former Mayor Bruce Rinker on March 1, 1999 after he had already served in recreation capacities for 25 years in Orange, Cleveland Heights and the city of his current residence, Shaker Heights.
“I told mayor Rinker that the village only had 3,460 residents and that wasn’t enough to start a rec program,” Thomas said on Monday. “So I reached out to the schools and other departments in the area.”
Working with Mayfield Heights Recreation Director Sean Ward, Thomas helped establish Wildcat Sport & Fitness on the grounds of Mayfield High School. The facility, which opened in 2012, has allowed local residents to enjoy a high quality workout and athletic facility at a low cost.
Bodnar, who presented a proclamation to Thomas, spoke of how he was hired just four months before the village’s Parkview Pool was to open.
“The pool was not much more than a hole in the ground when Bill was hired, but he worked hard to get it opened in July,” Bodnar said.
The mayor also lauded Thomas for forming in 2004 the Mayfield Adaptive Recreation Program for persons with disabilities. Starting with just two activities, the program has grown to include 42, making it the largest such program in Ohio and one of the largest in the country.
Thomas is a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Ohio Parks & Recreation Association.
After Monday’s meeting, Thomas was presented with a cake that featured on it a picture of the Energizer Bunny, representing the immense energy he brought to the job.
When asked what made Thomas special as a recreation director, Mayfield Board of Education member George Hughes said, “Like the Energizer Bunny on the cake, Bill never stopped moving. He’s real when he talks to you. He’s a live wire. Whatever Bill can do to make a program better for participants, he will do.”
Said Sean Ward, “He’s really been a great mentor. He has unending energy and positivity, that’s what he always brought to whatever he did.”
“I’m overwhelmed,” Thomas, 65, said of the kind words directed his way. “It’s been a collaborative effort. I couldn’t do it on my own.”
Thomas and wife of 41 years, Barbara, who attended the meeting, are parents of three grown daughters.
“I’m not going away,” Thomas said. “I plan to volunteer and be a lifeguard at Wildcat Fitness.”
Shane McAvinew was hired as the next recreation director and began work in Mayfield on Jan. 25.
In other village news:
— Mars Electric has opened its new headquarters at 6655 Beta Drive. It is Mars’ 12th branch, the nearest being in Willoughby and Mentor.
The Mayfield Village location also serves as Mars’ warehouse.
As incentive, the village entered into an agreement with Mars in which, Finance Director Ron Wynne said, Mayfield will rebate for five years to Mars a sum equal to 30 percent of the company’s annual income tax payment. There will be five individual rebates, one each year of the agreement.
— Bodnar spoke at Monday’s meeting against Gov. John Kasich’s proposed state budget, particularly the part in which Kasich would like to see one central collection of taxes.
“That would be a negative for us,” Bodnar said. “It would be cheaper for us to go through RITA (Regional Income Tax Agency), and we would have more control (with RITA).”
Bodnar said that, from 2017-19, central collection, which comes with a fee to communities, would reduce the amount of local government funding the village receives by 42 percent.
— Al Muhle spoke Monday to council for the final time as president of the Mayfield Township Historical Society, located in the village. Muhle has been president for nine years of the society, which also takes in Mayfield Heights, Highland Heights, Gates Mills and a portion of Lyndhurst.
Muhle has been a society member for 28 years and plans to continue maintaining the society’s building, 606 S.O.M. Center Road, and its grounds.
Also speaking at the meeting was the MTHS’s new president, Joan Gottschling, a Mayfield Heights resident.
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