YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert Rusu Jr. late last month reappointed Lee Frey to another three-year term as Mill Creek MetroParks board member. His term is Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2027.

Frey is president of the MetroParks Board of commissioners but has missed the last four monthly meetings, according to minutes of the September, October and November meetings.

The Vindicator attended the Dec. 9 meeting, which Frey missed.

When asked about his absences, Frey said in an email that they were “health related” and he “should be back by March by the latest.”

When asked if he talked to the judge prior to his reappointment, Frey said “I had a conversation with the judge. Prior to this, I had not missed a meeting for the previous eight years.”

Another park board commissioner, Tom Frost, also missed four meetings in 2024, according to meeting minutes. The other three board members missed two or no meetings in 2024. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm in Canfield.

Frey’s term comes up for renewal by itself every three years, but the terms of the other four board members come up two at a time every three years.

The appointments are made at the end of the final year of a person’s term so that they are in place when the next term begins Jan. 1, said Shannon Hudspeth, administrative assistant to Judge Rusu.

Frey, a former Canfield mayor, was first appointed to the MetroParks board in June 2016 after being screened by a “Citizens Selection Committee,” according to a probate court press release.