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LISBON -- Columbiana County Park District board members rehired Lisa Shafer of Salem as the district's new administrative assistant, noting she previously did the job for nearly three years before resigning in January.
The board took the action Thursday in an emergency special meeting, which is when they also voted to accept the unexpected resignation of now former administrative assistant Mark Guy.
Both votes were unanimous, with board member Neil Bayless unable to attend.
Vice Chairman Eileen Dray-Bardon said Shafer was always very organized and very efficient, she was creative and she was a self-starter. Both Dray-Bardon and board Chairman Tom Butch agreed that she was a great administrative assistant.
Butch said he spoke to Shafer Thursday morning and said she's willing to work three days a week.
Board member Kevin Todd moved for the hiring of Shafer at the rate she was making before she left, $13.61 per hour, not to exceed 20 hours per week, with the motion seconded by board member Linda Linebaugh. Dray-Bardon amended the motion to make Shafer a permanent part-time employee, which makes her eligible for paid time off. Butch then asked if they wanted to consider a bump in pay, but Todd suggested staying at the rate she was making when she left since that was the amount budgeted for this year.
All agreed and voted to name Shafer as the new administrative assistant. Butch said she'll be starting Monday.
Prior to the vote, Linebaugh and Todd reviewed Shafer's resume. Todd asked why she left, learning she and Butch both resigned at the same time in January. Butch said what happened with the board might have been a final straw, but there were some personal reasons.
Linebaugh asked if she was involved with Friends of the Park, but Butch said she wasn't. There had been talk previously about a perceived conflict of interest because Butch served on both the park board and the Friends of the Park. The prosecutor's office recently advised verbally for Butch not to vote on anything related to Friends of the Park.
Dray-Bardon commented that Friends of the Park is just a group of folks who love the parks, work to support the parks and raise funds to help the park district. The group was formed at a time when the park district was prohibited from holding its own fundraisers.
Regarding Guy, he had just been made permanent part-time at the meeting on July 13 and by that Friday, July 17, he unexpectedly resigned, sending a letter via e-mail to board members.
In a letter dated July 17, Guy wrote: "I Mark E. Guy do hereby submit my letter of resignation effective immediately as of this date July 17, 2026, at 4:54 p.m. and hereby time marked by this e-mail upon sending. It is my hope that the Columbiana County Park District going forward will gain measure of direction and purpose."
"Any other reason other than what was said here?" Todd asked.
Butch said no. He didn't see the email right away, but when he did, he tried to call Guy and was unable to reach him.
"We appreciate what he did for us," Butch said.
Dray-Bardon also called him and said she told him, "I'm sorry he felt he couldn't continue."
All he said was that he left his key at the county auditor's office.
Guy was hired by the previous board in February and was making $12.15 per hour. The previous board at a special meeting in January set the starting pay at $12.15 per hour, with raises of 25 cents after the first quarter, 50 cents after the second quarter, 25 cents after the third quarter and then 50 cents, bringing the total to $13.65 after one year.
The past year has been a period of change for the park district, with Dray-Bardon resigning last fall, then Butch and Shafer resigning in January, leaving Crystal Siembida Boggs, Joe Lawhorn, Megan McMaster (who had just joined the board) and Dave Hughes. Hughes launched a tirade of accusations against Lawhorn after Butch left that meeting and then refused to come to meetings unless Lawhorn resigned. He attended a meeting in February, but none after that, finally resigning in April.
In the meantime, the board had been trying to replace Butch. Columbiana County Probate Court Judge Thomas Baronzzi, who is the appointing authority for the board, had been reviewing information he had, then in May, he asked Lawhorn and Seimbida Boggs to resign, prompting McMaster to also resign.
Baronzzi reappointed Dray-Bardon and Butch to the board, then appointed the new members, Linebaugh, Todd and Bayless. The first order of business for the new board was to hire new maintenance workers after part-time maintenance workers Jon Bartholow and Daniel Narbey both resigned following the mass exodus of the previous board.
Now the part-time maintenance staff includes Tom Carman and Shawn Luketic and with Shafer coming back and the five board members in place, the district is back to full staff. Area residents can follow what's happening with the park district on the Facebook page for "The Columbiana County Park District."
The next meeting of the park district board is 5:30 p.m. Aug. 10 at the office on Maple Street, Lisbon.