YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A hobby that some consider their exercise is no longer allowed in Mill Creek MetroParks. A metal detecting ban is now being enforced, but the executive director says this is nothing new. The rule just hasn't been followed in the past.

The Tri-County Metal Detecting Club is used to searching for answers underground, but now these more than 150 members are wondering why all of a sudden they can no longer enjoy their hobby in Mill Creek MetroParks.

"We would just like to know a reason why," explained Mike Borosko, president of the club. "I live close to the park. I'm in the park all the time. We love our park. We don't want to hurt it." 

He also explained that "a majority of our members are elderly and youth and women and they enjoy this as a form of exercise."

The issue is that someone complained after seeing a person looking around Volney Rogers statue at the end of last year. 

That's when executive director Aaron Young says he found out his predecessor started issuing permits, despite a 1936 law that bans metal detecting.

"I'm sympathetic to their frustration to see that someone was being given a permit erroneously and then having to go back in and tell them that. It's not an enjoyable experience, particularly for administration," Young commented.

He also stated that any kind of of rule change would have to come from the board, not the executive director.

"I don't have the authority to override those rules. The rules are developed and implemented by the park board and then we administer them," stated Young.

The club says that 99 percent of the time they did a service for the park by picking up trash. In general, they have also helped police with evidence recovery and finding lost rings.

"We're not there to take anything from the park. It hasn't been brought or dropped by a person," said Borosko.

It is a discovery that the group hopes can eventually lead to a compromise with official permits letting them continue their quest for hidden treasure. The annual permits had laid out where they could go, when they could be there and what to do when something of historical significance was found.

"We pick up plastic trash when we find it on the fields. We don't go on ball fields when it's time of use. We won't go on the golf course. We don't go on the flower garden. Those were all rules that they set, so we followed the rules," explained Borosko.

The group plans to state their case for permits at the next board meeting.