Garrettsville – Former mayor and long-time village councilmember Tom Hardesty has been one of Garrettsville’s biggest supporters – and a guy who’s always liked to save a buck or two.
Those two interests have converged many times over Hardesty’s tenure as a public servant. The village is paying him back by naming a park after the man who was instrumental in developing the property on Brosius Road.
All that’s left is the installation of a sign at Tom Hardesty Park to give a public nod to the now-council president’s role in establishing the park nearly two decades ago. While communities often honor residents by naming parks after them, Hardesty’s role was unusual because of the creative way he got the land ready for the ballfields that provide recreation space for hundreds of people each year.
Mayor Rick Patrick gives enthusiastic credit to Hardesty for development of the park, which is located adjacent to the village’s well water fields. Using the land for a park, as opposed to other potential uses – helped protect the village’s water supply. The challenge 20 years ago was finding a way to do so under the constraints of a tight village budget.
Back in 1999 then-Mayor Hardesty– who is now council president – had heard that reservists occasionally volunteer their services to local communities to practice earth-moving skills. He started making calls and ended up contacting the 54th Landing Support Battalion based at the Vienna Air Base in Youngstown.
The soldiers provided the labor and heavy equipment, the village provided the fuel. The support battalion worked during the summer leveling the land and clearing space for baseball, softball and soccer fields.
The only other cost to the village was for engineering and incidental expenses such as backstops and goals. In all, about a quarter of the 55-acre parcel was leveled to make room for recreational use.
Development of Tom Hardesty Park provided much-needed space for ball teams and soccer teams both in Garrettsville and the surrounding areas. The village’s other park was recently named for the late Bill Phelps who spent decades coaching and supporting youth baseball.
The sign for Tom Hardesty Park will be installed at a later date.
Hardesty is humbled by the attention that the park name has generated. He doesn’t like the attention, but he stands by the importance of recreation space for village residents – particularly youth.
“My feeling was you could put money to the ball programs and pay for someone to take care of the fields, or you can put more money into the police. It’s a preventative cost. When you spend money on parks you keep kids busy with activities.”
Hardesty’s family and friends recently surprised him with a party to mark a milestone birthday and celebrated council’s decision to dedicate the park in his name.
Hardesty and his wife Barb have two children, Justin Hardesty and Dr. Jocelyn Geib, as well as four grandchildren.
