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ADP Board Approves Courthouse Networking Infrastructure  

ADP Board Meeting - March 19, 2025 

Meeting Details: The Automatic Data Processing Board (ADP) held a Special Meeting at 2:00 pm on March 19, 2025  in the Geauga County Auditor’s Office Appraisal Conference Room at 231 Main St. Chardon, OH 44024. Virtual access was available via MS Teams, and the agenda was provided in advance. This observer viewed the video of the meeting.

Public Comment: ADP does not have a written public comment policy. In practice, public comment is solicited at the end of the meeting.

Board Attendance:

• Auditor/Chief Administrator – Charles Walder (virtual)

• Clerk of Courts – Sheila Bevington (absent)

• County Commissioner – Carolyn Brakey

• Engineer – Katie Taylor for Andy Haupt

• Board of Elections – Michelle Lane and Nora McGinnis 

• County Prosecutor – Jim Flaiz (absent)

• Recorder – Celesta Mullins (absent)

• Sheriff – Scott Hildenbrand

• Treasurer – Caroline Mansfield for Chris Hitchcock 

• Coroner – John Urbancic (absent)

• Common Pleas Court Judge - Observer Note - It was stated at the January 28, 2025 meeting that this seat will not be filled.
  

ADP Staff Attendance: 

• Frank Antenucci – Chief Deputy Administrator

• Allen Keener - Chief Technology Officer (virtual)

• Joe Birli -  IT Physical Security Analyst (virtual)

• Joshua Holtz - Security Technician 

• Akshay Raikar
  

Other Government Representatives:

• Carolyn Paschke - Court of Common Pleas Judge

• Linda Burhenne - Acting County Administrator

• Velta Muisio - Court of Common Pleas IT Director

• Pam McMahan - Chief Operations Officer, Auditor’s Office

• Adrian Gorton - Geauga County Finance Manager (virtual)

• Randy Taylor - Court of Common Pleas

• Samantha Harris - County Prosecutor's office

Others Present:

• Brad Gellert - ThenDesign Architecture, Project Manager (virtual)

• Brett Bestgen - Infinity Construction

• Lee Hribar - ThenDesign Architecture

• Jarrett Parker - NV5 (virtual)

• Jim Rivard - Technology consultant with Thorsen Baker (virtual)

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm by Mr. Antenucci. 

Minutes: None were presented.

 

Observer Note: Please see the LWVG Observer Report from March 4, 2025 ADP meeting where the requirement for ADP approval of technology components of the County Courthouse project was discussed. This Special ADP meeting is a follow-up.

The Board took the following actions:

APPROVED - Courthouse Networking Infrastructure less Configuration Services ($186,300). At the beginning of the discussion, Mr. Antenucci noted that they had received a “flood of data and documents the past few days” regarding the network infrastructure for the Courthouse. Ms. Burhenne introduced Brett Bestgen from Infinity Construction and Lee Hribar from ThenDesign Architecture. Mr. Hribar introduced Jim Rivard, a technology consultant from Dorset Baker who attended the meeting virtually. Mr. Antenucci reported that based on ADP’s review of the documents provided, the plans for the networking infrastructure met the minimum standards to integrate with the county’s network as communicated in a spreadsheet provided by ADP approximately one and a half years ago. Mr. Bestgen confirmed that none of the equipment had been purchased. Mr. Antenucci requested that “configuration services” at a cost of $6,700, be removed from the plans since ADP does not outsource this work. He described these services as the configuration of the basic out of the box equipment to ADP network standards. He asked the project representatives to clarify in the plans that the cost did include “racking and stacking” by the technology consultants. Observer Note: Racking and stacking refers to the process of installing and connecting physical network hardware. During the process, the physical pieces of equipment are mounted onto computer racks and connected to power and data sources. This may involve cables and connectors, power strips, and power cords. Mr. Walder asked if the networking infrastructure costs were included in the original costs of the project. Mr. Bestgen explained that since these plans were presented as a change order, the costs were not included.

APPROVED - Horizontal Cabling and Racks and Accessories (cost not provided) - Mr. Antenucci noted that based on ADP’s review the cabling specifications provided were good and the equipment was of good quality. Mr. Bestgen said that the cost of these items was included in the base cost of the building and that the cabling was planned for installation that week.

DISCUSSED - Mr. Antenucci made clear that ADP reviewed only networking equipment and not information regarding audio visual (AV) equipment specified for the courthouse that was also provided. He noted that the plans indicated the intended use of Creston Technology for AV equipment and installation, the same vendor used for the non operational AV equipment at the Geauga County Office Building (GCOB). Mr. Bestgen said he would review the plans and estimated that the AV equipment would be installed in October 2025. Reviewer Note:  This was discussed at different meetings of the Board of County Commissioners as to why the equipment was still not operational.  See LWVGeauga Observer Report for January 14, 2025 here.  It appears from that discussion that no training had been provided in the operation of the system.  Mr. Antenucci said at the time that it was a very sophisticated system and that he would pursue training on how to use it.

Note: Mr. Antenucci confirmed with Mr. Bestgen that the actions taken at the meeting would allow the courthouse project to remain on schedule.

APPROVED - MCCi Laserfische ($50,165) and MCCi Managed Cloud ($30,845) Project - Ms. McMahan explained that this project will automate the fiscal process, eliminating paper vouchers. Laserfiche is an automated document solution allowing for the creation and approval of vouchers online. It integrates with DocuSign to facilitate online approvals. The solution will be managed in the cloud by MCCi. Ms. McMahan explained that the implementation will start in small increments, eventually supporting the posting of county expenditures on the Auditor’s website. Mr. Walder noted that the project will allow for the non-replacement of an open position in the fiscal department within the Auditor’s group. Included in the costs of the project are annual recurring support charges of $65,390.

Regular Business: 

• Mr. Antenucci informed the Board that he received a letter from Dr. John Urbancic, Geauga County Coroner, designating Dorothy Battles as his alternate on the ADP Board. No action required. It was simply noted in the record.

• Ms. McMahan updated the Board on the New World hosted cloud-based project. She explained that beta testing of the new environment was performed for two months and that they are now ready to expand testing to a group of 6–10 power users. These users will attempt to identify any bugs and report any user experience issues. The goal is to complete full migration to the hosted system by December 2025. Observer Note: Please see LWVG Observer Report from September 10, 2024 ADP meeting where this project was discussed in detail.

• Sheriff Hildenbrand raised the topic of firmware updates to the Courthouse security cameras. He clarifed that his department would be responsible for these updates, working with ADP. 

• Mr. Walder requested that board members receive large data packets at least a week in advance, noting a supplemental packet had arrived just the night before, limiting adequate review time.

Public Comment: Mr. Antenucci asked for any public comment/questions. There were none.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:42 pm.

The next meeting of the ADP Board is a Regular Meeting on June 10, 2025 at 2:00 pm. 

Minutes when posted are available here: Meeting Minutes | Geauga County Automatic Data Processing

Virtual Meeting Information:  Contact Pamela McMahan at pmcmahan@gcauditor.com 

Observer: Carol Benton

Editor: Sarah McGlone

Reviewer: Gail Roussey

Submitted: March 26, 2025

The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.