COITSVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio - The Mill Creek Metro Parks board is expected to authorize its director, Aaron Young, to sell the McGuffey Wildlife Preserve at its next meeting.

However, Richard Scarsella, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, is unhappy that the board did not keep the historical society informed about this decision.

"The society has not been consulted or contacted by the park, but I had heard that it was part of a conversation. We're very disappointed. We gave the property in 1998 with the intention that it would be preserved and made available for future generations. So we're very disappointed," Scarsella said. 

The chairman emphasized that the property is crucial for the area and that its loss would significantly impact local communities like Campbell, Coitsville Township, and Youngstown's Upper East Side.

"For it to no longer be part of the park district [would be] really a great loss for the community," Scarsella said. 

21 News reached out to Mill Creek Metro Parks, but they declined to comment on the situation.

If the parks decide to sell it, Scarsella suggested some ideas on who should take control of the preserve.

"If [Mill Creek Metro Parks] have no interest in maintaining the property...they [should] sell it to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources or a nature conservancy or a similar organization that is dedicated to making natural space open to the public at no charge," Scarsella said.