BOCC Votes 2-1 to Pause $1.33 Million of Airport Funding; Dissenting Commissioner Spidalieri Advises Airport to Explore Legal Action Against BOCC in Response
Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Meeting - February 4, 2025
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday,
February 4, 2025 at 9:30 am for a meeting at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. Meetings can also be live streamed through the Geauga ADP Youtube channel. Recordings are available for the public. The February 4, 2025 meeting recording can be found here. At the date of publication this video had been viewed 161 times. Notations in the report refer to the minute notation on the video for a particular section. An agenda is available in advance via request to the Commissioners’ Clerk and at the meeting. Items discussed at the meeting but not on the agenda, if any, are addressed at the end of this report. Observer Note: Audio on the video cannot be heard until 7:40 Minutes (as noted below).
Public Comment Policy: Permitted as outlined in the BOCC’s Public Comment Policy that was adopted on January 28, 2025.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners Carolyn Brakey, James Dvorak, and Ralph Spidalieri. Also present were Commissioners' Clerk Christine Blair, Acting County Administrator Linda Burhenne and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.
County Representatives: Glen Vernick, Director, Maintenance Department; Matt Sieracki, Contract Coordinator, Maintenance Department; Chuck Tkach, Program Manager, Maintenance Department; Craig Swenson, Executive Director, Job and Family Services (JFS); Lisa Berkheimer, Conservation Technician, Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District; Jessica Boalt, Director, Office on Aging; Matthew Granito, Dog Warden, and Joan Windnagel, Board of Elections (Board member).
Others in Attendance: Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP; Pam McMahan, Chief Operations Officer, Auditor’s Office; Timothy Lennon, Former Geauga County Commissioner; Richard Blamer, Manager, Geauga Airport Authority, County residents Diane and Tom Jones, members of the public and press, and this Observer.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a prayer was offered by Mr. Dvorak.
Minutes: No Minutes were submitted for approval. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for BOCC are available online through February 4, 2025 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through January 7, 2025.
7:29 Min Ms. Burhenne reported on the following actions she took:
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Approved resignation of recreation and education assistant, Department of Aging
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Approved advertising for a full time recreation and education assistant in the Department of Aging
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Approved hiring a full time Driver in the Department of Aging.
Observer Note: This is when the sound starts on the recording.
8:12 Min. Financial Report: Mr. Gorton received approval for the following: Observer Note: Monetary figures are given when available.
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Supplemental appropriation from the General Fund to Probate and Juvenile Court in their Indigent Drivers, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), Special Projects, and Computerization Funds to establish the court-ordered preparations for their 2025 budget submission.
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Supplemental appropriation from Community and Economic Development in their revitalization, Brownfield remediation Grant and block Grant funds to reestablish contracts and continue projects into this year.
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Supplemental appropriation from the Treasurer's Office in the general fund repair services account to provide funds for the increased costs associated with the Microsoft 365 licenses for this year.
Encumbrances:
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Travel for ADP
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Then and Now from the Common Pleas Court to the Forensic Psychology Center of Northeast Ohio for evaluations from 2024 not previously encumbered
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Contract from Maintenance to Verdantes Architecture Inc. for professional design and contract administration services related to the Annex basement project and not previously covered in a formal contract.
Vouchers
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$44,475.80 from the Commissioners’ Office to Trumbull County for the County's pro rata share of the 11th District Court of Appeals budgeted costs for 2025, offset by a credit from 2024.
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$7,680 from JFS to Great Lakes Truck Driving School for workforce investment expenses related to their CDL driver training
10:13 Min. Mr. Spidalieri asked for the total on the Annex project for the engineering costs, and it was confirmed that the total was $36,000. Mr. Spidalieri then inquired about the sq footage (1,110 sq. ft.) involved and questioned the amount paid. Speaking from the public, Mr. Tkach, Maintenance Program Manager, answered some of these questions. He said that the project included a bathroom, new HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), and an alarm system. He said the ceiling had to be raised and there were other complications regarding the project. Mr. Spidalieri stated that he “was a no vote” on this part of the financials, and it was decided to make that notation next to that item on the financials, which were otherwise approved unanimously.
14:45 Min. The Soil and Water Conservation District received approval to Issue a “Finding of Violation” against Stacy Crute, IV and Nicolina Vencl regarding construction activities occurring at 11425 Aquilla Road, (Parcel #13-007100) in Claridon Township for failure to comply with Geauga County Water Management and Sediment Control Regulations, Sections 3.01 and 7.02 by not submitting or obtaining an approved Water Management and Sediment Control Plan and failure to prevent excessive sediment from leaving the property, as identified in the 1st (November 25, 2024) and 2nd (December 30, 2024) Notices of Violation as indicated and further forward the “Finding of Violation” to the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office for further action as necessary to secure required compliance. Ms. Berkheimer answered a question about whether Stacy Crute was the owner of record of the property, and she said that he wasn’t, but he was the one who had been responding to inquiries and lived in the house on the property. The BOCC decided to approve the action.
17:36 Min. The Department on Aging received approval for the following:
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To acknowledge receipt of the Certificate of Estimated Property Tax Revenue regarding the renewal of the 1.0 Mill levy for the purpose of providing or maintaining senior citizens services or facilities. Ms. Boalt said that the certificate of estimated property tax revenue submitted by the author calculated a revenue projection of $3,330,000. Ms. Boalt further said that this would result in an increase of about $21 rounded to the nearest dollar for each $100,000 of assessed value. Mrs. Brakey asked about the assumption listed of 100% collection and Ms. Boalt said that she didn’t know the exact collection rate but that it was always listed as 100%. Reviewer Note: Please see the January 23, 2025 BOCC Observer Report for more information on the Department on Aging’s renewal levy, which will be on the May 6, 2025 ballot.
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To execute Resolution #25-017 Declaring it Necessary to Levy a Tax in Excess of the Ten-Mill Limitation, as authorized by Revised Code 5705.03, .19,.25, .26 for the purpose of providing or maintaining senior citizens services or facilities.
19:42 Min. The Department of Job and Family Services received approval for the following:
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To acknowledge receipt of the Certificate of Estimated Property Tax Revenue regarding the renewal of 0.5 Mill levy for any operations or capital improvement expenditure necessary for the support of children services and care and placement of children. Mr. Swenson said that this was “a straight renewal” and that it would result in an increase of $12 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. Reviewer Note: Please see the January 23, 2025 BOCC Observer Report for more information on the JFS renewal levy, which will be on the May 6, 2025 ballot.
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To approve and execute Resolution #25-018 Declaring it Necessary to Levy a Tax in Excess of the Ten Mill Limitation and to Provide for the Necessary Requirements of the Geauga County Department of Job and Family Services, per O.R.C. 5705.07 and 5705.24.
20:58 Min. The Maintenance Department received approval for the following:
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To accept the Performance Bond from Air Force One, Incorporated for the 2025-2028 “Hill” (County Offices located in Chardon) HVAC Maintenance Services and further release the Bid Bond.
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To approve and execute the Contract Agreement with North Bay Construction Company, Incorporated for the Geauga County Annex Generator Upgrade in the amount of $146,500.00. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond on this project.
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To approve and execute the Agreement for Professional Design Services with R. E. Warner and Associates, Incorporated to provide professional design and contract administration services related to upgrading the roof on the Geauga County Safety Center in an amount not to exceed $98,653.00.
24:03 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:
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To execute Resolution #25-019 Amended – Resolution of Support for the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Community Capital Project for the renovation of the Geauga Youth Center. This action was necessary, according to Acting Administrator Linda Burhenne, because Mr. Morgan (formerly the County Administrator) was named as authorized to sign documents. Ms. Burhenne said that the County might not be able to accept the grant funds because there is a 20-year mortgage attached to the grant; the Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing this.
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To approve and authorize the President of the Board to execute the Current Agriculture Use Valuation Renewal Application form (DTE 109(A)) for Parcel #13-015313. Mrs. Brakey confirmed that this was the property adjacent to the former county home at 13211 Aquilla Rd, roughly across from Ravenwood Drive. Reviewer Note: The former county home, known as Pleasant Hill Home, was closed in 2018 after almost 150 years of operations. It is located on Aquilla Road in Chardon.
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To approve and execute the Certification Request to County Auditor, Request to Board of Commissioners Quarterly Use of County Credit Cards, pursuant to O.R.C. 301.27 for the Year 2025 (Quarters 1, 2 3 and 4) for the Auditor/ADP, Clerk of Courts, Commissioners, Sheriff, Department on Aging, Job and Family Services, Community and Economic Development, Maintenance and Water Resources.
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To designate the County Administrator as the Board’s Representative and further authorize the execution of the Applications for Geauga County Credit Card Program Employee Acknowledgement Forms for all Agencies, Offices and Departments utilizing Credit Cards for Year 2025. Mr. Swenson asked a question about how the BOCC would like to handle unforeseeable expenses, and it was determined that they would get back to him.
29:02 Min. Board Discussion on 2025 unfunded budget requests for Supplemental Appropriations will be considered next Tuesday, February 11, 2025, as part of the Financials. Observer Note: See the prior budget discussion contained in the LWVGeauga Observer report for the December 3, 2024 BOCC meeting here. Mr. Gorton reviewed all the requests submitted by Departments that were not funded in the 2025 Tax Budget. He said that these requests can now be submitted as Supplemental Appropriations. He said these will be voted on at the next meeting, and he wanted to answer questions before that time. Observer Note: There was a lengthy discussion with some requests questioned extensively, especially by Commissioner Spidalieri. Please see the video for the complete discussion.
The unfunded budget requests include:
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ADP (Automatic Data Processing) - There was extensive discussion of a request for $730,000 (almost $731,000), which included payroll, equipment, and computer hardware and software.
Regarding payroll, in answering Mr. Spidalieri’s questions, Mr. Antenucci said that three vacant positions are being advertised. Observer Note: In separate correspondence, Mr. Antenucci wrote that ADP has 13 staff members now with three open positions and that in 2021 there were 12 staff members with one open position. Mr. Antenucci said that only one ADP employee has a salary in the range of $100,000. He also said that there was a need for more staff in the area of cyber security and that they are doing more work for other areas in the county. Mr. Gorton said that ADP had agreed to take out a maintenance position since the Maintenance Department and ADP are cooperating better on needed work. The total requested amount for payroll (including benefits) would be $220,000.
Mr. Spidalieri referred back to a prior discussion regarding ADP utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for payroll. The Commissioners determined on October 10, 2024 that they only wanted payroll that is funded from the General Fund to be paid for with ARPA money and asked all departments that had utilized ARPA funds for non-General Fund payroll to repay those amounts. Observer Note: See LWVGeauga Report for October 10, 2024 here for more information. It was noted that the Prosecutor said that some of these funds could not legally transfer money back to the General Fund. The Real Estate Assessment Fund (REAF) was one of the entities using ARPA money for payroll outside of the General Fund, and Mr. Gorton said that the $7,400 of ARPA money that REAF used for payroll was not repaid.
The equipment request included 2 vehicles for $80,000. The two vehicles to be replaced are a 13 year old vehicle being used by the Archives, and a 13 year old vehicle being used for transporting computers and other technology. The total for equipment, including updating servers, computers and other upgrades, was $416,000.
Mr. Spidalieri asked for more information, and Mr. Antenucci referred to information he had submitted to the Commissioners and was made available to the media.
Mr. Dvorak and Mrs. Brakey appeared to be inclined to approve these expenses but Mr. Spidalieri said that they were not okay with him.
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57:36 Min. Auditor - There was a request for $120,000 for an office remodel which was trimmed to allow Maintenance to do the work of coordination. It was suggested the project could go through the Building Improvement Fund. Ms. Pam McMahan, Auditor’s Office Chief Operations Officer, spoke from the public and said that would be fine. Mr. Spidalieri said he would vote no on this item. There was a request for computer monitors, copiers, etc. for $26,300. Mr. Spdalieri said no on this as well. Observer Note: As mentioned above, all of these discussions are about potential votes. The actual voting will take place at the next meeting.
There was a request for contract services for renovation of the third floor of the Opera House for $87,000. Ms. Burhenne asked how much was in the REAF Fund that was not given back, and Mr. Gorton said there was $200,000 in that fund. Mr. Gorton thought they could use the REAF fund to do the $75,000 project.
There was confusion about different funds and different office projects. but it appeared that there were three projects: $119,000 for the fiscal office, $75,000 for the Opera House, and the basement project, which was discussed earlier in the meeting.
Ms. Burhenne expressed surprise that there were three projects.
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1:10 Min Board of Elections - They had submitted three requests that had been unfunded - a rolling ladder, high speed mail opener, and a minivan, totaling $89,000. Mrs. Brakey said she was inclined to fund the rolling ladder but not the minivan, which could be obtained through the Maintenance Department. Joan Windnagel, member of the Board of Elections, explained these requests, and Mr. Vernon from Maintenance also agreed that the Board of Elections could use their van. It appeared that the ladder and high speed mail opener would be approved.
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1:16 Min Common Pleas Court Technology - They had $50,525 in requests that had not been funded, including for computers, a kiosk and other equipment. Mrs. Brakey asked about the kiosk and whether this was for the new court house, but Mr. Gorton said it was for current use. There was no other discussion.
$100,000 was requested for Grounds, and $100,000 was requested for Building. Mr Gorton explained that these accounts were cut in order to find enough funds after the income from the JFS levy was reduced. Software Services had been reduced $50,000, Electric Service payments were cut (amount not specified) and $204,000 was cut in the payroll. Except for payroll, all commissioners seemed inclined to permit the Software services and electric charges to be reinstated when they come up for a vote next week. Mrs. Brakey asked if the vacant positions indicated in the $204,000 payroll increase were being advertised, but heard that they were not. It was agreed that vacant positions would be removed from the $204,000 payroll request but Summer help would remain. Mr. Gorton said he would reach out to Mr. Vernock to confirm the positions were not being advertised. All other requests appeared to be okay with all commissioners.
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Sheriff - A request for $114,000 for computer equipment and Microsoft 365 were unfunded. Mr. Spidalieri asked if any IT from ADP went to the Sheriff’s Department, and Mr. Antenucci said no. He said that they don’t have a totally centralized operation, so some departments (like the Sheriff) have some separate servers. Mr. Spidalieri asked about purchases last year of vehicles, and Mr. Gorton said that the Sheriff had purchased cars in the last fiscal year. In 911 and 800 MGhertz accounts there had been reductions of $44,000 and $31,000. All agreed these should be approved for funding.
Mr. Spidalieri asked about the unappropriated balance, and Mr. Gorton said he would prepare a summary. He said there had been a $8 million balance and with the requests detailed above, which total about $2.5 million, there would still be a good balance remaining.
1:33 Min. Dog Shelter - Mr. Dvorak recognized Dog Warden Matt Granito Mr. Granito made an announcement that the dog shelter is currently closed. He said that a dog had come in that appeared healthy, but later was found to have distemper, which Mr. Granito said is fatal in 50% of cases. At this point the shelter is closed to accepting new dogs. He said that vaccination is the only thing that prevents distemper. He urged homeowners to not let their dogs run since there could be a wild animal that caused this. The kennel will go through an extensive bleaching and cleaning process before the kennel will accept new dogs. Dogs not in contact with the sick dog have temporarily been placed elsewhere and will be brought back when it is safe to do so.
1:39 Min. Board Discussion
Board of Elections - Ms. Burhenne said that the Board of Elections would like to use Building 8 at the 470 Center St. complex for two precinct locations during the upcoming elections in May and November. They looked at other sites, but none were suitable or available when needed. Mr. Dvorak asked if they will be moving into the new county building, and Ms. Windnagel said their goal is to move in June. The request to use Building 8 was approved.
1:42:47 Airport - Two subjects discussed:
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$1.33 Million that the BOCC voted on 12/17/24. It was stated that the resolution on 12/17 indicated that there would be an agreement. Observer Note: See BOCC minutes from that date here. Ms. Burhenne said that ORC (Ohio Revised Code) had been cited in the past that indicated that the BOCC can give money to the Airport, and there doesn’t have to be an agreement. Observer Note: Ms Burhenne did not refer to a specific ORC citation. She said in the past they did this for a $20,000 payment. Ms. Burhenne said that they could revoke the past 12/17 resolution and not require an agreement. Mrs. Brakey said that $1.33 million is different from $20,000. Mr. Dovrak said that they were proud of the airport and what has been done there. He said that he was on another board for the Geauga Youth Center, and that the new Youth Center could cost $6 million. He also noted that they have been working towards a new senior center. Mr. Dvorak said that one of the Airport Board members is willing to negotiate the contract. He indicated that this Board member, Mr. Hess, said that they might compromise on something - give so much, loan so much, etc.
Mr. Spidalieri thought that the funds were committed. Mr. Gorton said that the funds were not transferred to the Airport, because they were waiting for the agreement. Mr. Spidalieri said that there was an understanding that the $560,000 that the Airport received in the FAA Grant could be kept by them, with nothing returned to the County. Mr. Spidalieri said to Mr. Blamer (in the audience) that they should go back to their board and talk to legal counsel. Mr. Dvorak noted that they had until the end of April to get the paperwork done. Mr. Spidalieri talked about the business impact of the airport, and he praised the Airport Board. He said, “then I hope that you know the legal counsel on the airport side of things looks into this to see if there's any action that they could take against the Commissioners to retain that money because I support it 100 % to still go that direction.”
Mr. Spidalieri further said that he supports transferring all the money to the Airport.
Mrs. Brakey said there should be a contract. Mr. Spidalieri then said that they should disband the Board (Airport Board). Mrs. Brakey also said that it was problematic that if an entity applied for a grant but they didn't need it, that seemed like a problem.
Mrs. Brakey said they should rescind the original motion and renegotiate the deal again. Mr. Dvorak said he agreed to “get this thing back on track.”
Motion passed to rescind the original resolution, with Mr. Spidalieri voting no.
Mr. Dvorak said he would like to see a three year or five year plan.
Ms. Burhenne said she needed direction on who will work with the Airport Authority, and Mr. Dvorak offered to do that.
Planning Commission - Mr. Dvorak asked about Planning Commission appointments. He wanted to appoint Philip C. Miller to the Planning Board and two others. Mr. Dvorak did not realize that the other two appointments were made in regular session on December 17, 2024, but Ms. Blair stated they did occur in regular session. Mr. Miller is a representative from the county Amish community, and his appointment was approved unanimously.
Solid Waste District - It was announced that the Solid Waste District is soliciting public opinion on their services. It is on the BOCC website here.
Courthouse Shower - This was a request for a change order for the courthouse project to add $32,000 for a shower for employees. It was decided to hold off on this until there is more information.
2:11:30 Not on the Agenda - Mr. Spidalieri asked the other Commissioners to waive attorney/client privilege in regards to an investigation into Acting Administrator Linda Burhenne. He said that he has been getting a lot of questions from the public and wanted to be able to answer completely. Mr. Spidalieri stated that Ms. Burhenne had been completely exonerated, and he wanted the public to see the information and the report from outside counsel who conducted the investigation. Both Mr. Dvorak and Ms. Brakey (for various reasons) thought that just a brief statement concerning this would be the appropriate response. Observer Note: There is a brief part of this discussion that was not captured by the video. There is a note on the Youtube recording that states that there had been an automatic update which had caused a temporary halt in the video of 60 seconds. The rest of this discussion is captured on the video. In this Observer’s opinion, this gap does not impact the total discussion that continued for another 7 minutes. The nature of the complaint was not mentioned nor was the name of the outside counsel or how this attorney came to be asked to investigate.
2:18:51 Public Comment (in accordance with policy referred to above)
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An individual from Russell Township said, “Leave the airport alone” and expressed his opinion that the Airport should be able to decide how they use the money discussed above.
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Anastasia Nicholas, a reporter from the Chagrin Valley Times asked Mr. Spidalieri to clarify his comment that the Airport should take legal action against the County. Mr. Spidalieri responded that the goal of legal action would be for the Airport to get back total access to the $1.33 million that was authorized for the Airport. (See discussion above on this topic).
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This observer asked two questions - one was the amount of the Grant mentioned above for the Youth Center ($1 million). The second question was whether the investigation mentioned concerning Ms. Burhenne was the result of an indictment or other process, and it was stated that it was an internal investigation.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.
Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next BOCC meeting is on February 11, 2025 at 9:30 am at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Date Submitted: 2/8/2025
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