GPH Creates First Draft of Program to Help Low Income Residents
with Septic Compliance
Geauga Public Health (GPH) - October 15, 2025
Meeting Details: The GPH Board met in Regular Session at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168 (first floor), Chardon, OH, on October 15, 2025. The meeting began at 5:00 pm. This meeting is in person with no virtual viewing or video. The Agenda is posted on the GPH Facebook page a few days prior to the meeting and then typically is posted on the GPH website. The Agenda can be found here.
Public Comment Policy: There is no separate written policy, but in practice “Citizens’ Remarks” are listed on the agenda and are permitted as detailed there.
Board Attendance: Dr. Ashley Jones, President, Dr. Mark Hendrickson, Melissa DeBoth, Lynn Roman, and Christine Sutter were present.
Staff Attendance: Dan Lark, Director of Environmental Health, Adam Litke, Administrator, and Katie Taylor, Finance Director, were present. Ron Graham, Lake and Geauga Health Commissioner, was absent.
Others Present: Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Geauga Maple Leaf Journalist Allison Wilson, and this LWVG Observer.
Call to Order: Called to order at 5:00 pm.
Opening of Meeting - The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A quorum was declared, as was a Certification of the Delivery of Official notices of meeting.
Minutes – The minutes of the Regular Meeting on September 17, 2025 were approved, with Dr. Jones abstaining.
The item below was moved up on the Agenda for a presentation by Mr. Antenucci about ADP’s new cybersecurity compliance program.
Permission to Adopt ADP’s Cybersecurity Compliance Program – approved unanimously
Mr. Antenucci presented an overview of the recently enacted ORC (Ohio Revised Code) 9.64 (HB 96) (Cybersecurity Compliance Law):
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The bill was enacted about 120 days ago, becoming effective September 30, 2025, and establishes mandatory cybersecurity compliance for all political subdivisions in Ohio. The law was prompted by multiple hacking incidents in counties and cities such as Columbus and Cleveland.
Application to Geauga Public Health (GPH)
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GPH is part of the county’s ADP network, which already meets and exceeds state cybersecurity standards.
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The ADP Board developed a 69-page cybersecurity program based on NIST and CIS standards (national frameworks for information security).
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The County Commissioners have adopted the program, but, because the GPH Board is its own hiring authority, Mr. Antenucci recommends that GPH formally adopt it as well. Adoption is optional until July 2026, but Mr. Antenucci and Mr. Litke suggested adopting the program early to avoid future compliance issues.
Training and Compliance
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KnowBe4 phishing and security awareness training (quarterly).
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Ohio Persistent Cyber Improvement (O-PCI) training for employees and board members.
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Training involves short (10–15 min) modules and simulated phishing exercises.
Email, Records, and Equipment
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GPH Board members use Gmail, not county servers, to simplify public records access and minimize the need for ADP involvement. Because their laptops are not connected to the county server, Board members would be exempt from training.
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GPH staff use county-issued equipment that meets Department of Defense (DOD) standards; ADP prohibits devices with non-DOD–approved microchips (e.g., foreign-sourced hardware).
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The county’s bulk purchasing under ADP saved GPH about $44,000 on recent computer equipment upgrades.
Board members had several questions for Mr. Antenucci:
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Dr. Hendrickson questioned why compliance is delayed until July 2026 and raised concerns about foreign-made chips; Mr. Antenucci confirmed that only equipment with American-sourced microchips is permitted.
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Mrs. Roman asked how employees would know if they’re compliant and was told that training covers this.
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Mr. Litke emphasized that formal adoption will clarify accountability and staff compliance.
Mr. Antenucci exited the meeting at 5:20 pm.
Health District Staff Reports
Observer Note: These reports are available with the Agenda on the Geauga Public Health (GPH) website. See October Agenda here.
Mrs. Roman asked the amount of the Safe Communities grant. Mr. Litke said the grant hovers between $35-$40,000 and is direct reimbursement only for actual time spent. Mr. Litke said it is one they usually lose money on. Observer Note: The Safe Communities program is designed to reduce the number of traffic-related motor vehicle deaths in Geauga County by increasing seat belt usage, increasing motorcycle safety awareness, and reducing distracted and impaired driving.
Dr. Jones asked if GPH is impacted by the Board of Pharmacy’s revised requirements for dispensing naloxone or the instruments for overdose prevention. Mr. Litke said GPH has its own pharmacy license and the ability to bring naloxone in. Dr. Jones said they might have to do an analysis because the law that requires a dispensing license has been rescinded. Mr. Litke noted GPH needs a pharmacy license to dispense vaccines.
Dr. Jones also cited the positive impact of Governor DeWine’s recent executive order that authorizes the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to adopt an emergency rule decriminalizing tools such as test strips and fentanyl reagent kits, used to prevent drug overdoses. Mr. Litke commented that it was strange this wasn’t allowed originally, and Dr. Jones noted that the theory was the instruments were being “used to create things” as opposed to making sure “things” weren’t in there.
Mrs. Roman asked if the changes in communicable disease reporting requirements have impacted staffing or workload. Mr. Litke said the changes haven’t had an impact yet as a result of this unfunded mandate for monitoring both active and latent cases of tuberculosis (TB). He talked about the difficulty in tracking active cases of such illnesses since most of the cases go unreported. He said they work together with UH on communicable disease reporting and management. Mr. Litke stated that their two nurses currently share the workload but warned that if cases of all diseases keep going up or if TB “continues to be a problem,” they are going to have to address the lack of funding for staff. He reminded the Board about the difficulty in recruiting and retaining nursing staff at the comparatively low hourly rate GPH pays, noting “it is down to very thin margins on how we operate.”
Mrs. Roman pointed out that no TB cases were listed on the communicable disease report. Dr. Hendrickson said updates will start in October. There was discussion about the difficulty in tracking latent cases. Dr. Jones said the only way she sees the information being captured is from long-term care facilities or if patients self-report. Mr. Litke noted that a lot of cases are migratory, where an individual tested positive somewhere, migrated to Geauga and then left after a month or two, before treatment could be administered and the case recorded.
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Environmental Health Report – Mr. Lark referred the Board to the first draft of a proposal for an O & M (Operations & Management) assistance program to help low-income residents maintain and repair their septic systems. Observer Note: The draft was not included in the Agenda and was not available to the public. He wanted the Board to discuss guidelines to qualify for assistance, noting that, while the EPA requires applicants be at 300% of the poverty level, they were considering a limit of 200%, meaning a family of four could earn no more than $64,000 a year to qualify for this program. Mr. Lark and Mr. Litke said this is a first look at the proposal and asked for feedback before the next board meeting. Mr. Litke noted that he wasn’t aware of a comparable program in the state, which has made decisions about its structure a little more difficult. Mr. Lark said if they chose 300% of the poverty level, it would include about 23% of the county residents; at 200%, the number would be close to 15%. Observer Note: See LWVG Observer Report for the April 16 GPH Board meeting for more information here.
Mr. Lark said they would track the number of applicants. Mr. Litke was advocating for 200% of the poverty level as a starting point, saying it’s easier to expand the applicant pool than reduce it after implementation.
Mrs. Roman asked about the status of the HealthSpace program. Mr. Lark said they hope to have this new software for reporting safety at food establishments online in December.
He said that he hopes to present a revised FY26 budget to the Board at the next meeting. Reviewer Note: It is presumed that this is a revised budget since the budget had previously been approved by the Health District Advisory Council (HDAC) at their annual meeting in March 2025. Revisions are not usual. Mr. Litke said he would be working with Ms. Taylor on the FY27 budget for the Health District Advisory Council (HDAC) annual meeting in March 2026, and plans to present it to the Board in January or February. Observer Note: HDAC has the responsibility of reviewing the GPH budget at their annual March meeting.
He stated the audit is almost done. He is not aware of “anything crazy” yet. Reviewer Note: The Agenda states that audits for 2023 and 2024 are currently being conducted by the State.
Mr. Litke said Ms. Taylor is “doing a great job.” He noted that she was able to get everything done to request reimbursement from the Safe Communities grant. He said funding was uncertain due to the government shutdown, but they had reserves to get them through.
Dr. Hendrickson asked for clarification on multiple entries for “Other Revenue” on the budget report. Ms. Taylor said she believed the appropriations were switched with deposits going into the wrong accounts, but “because they both are very similar line items, it’s not going to be an issue.” Mr. Litke said he and Ms. Taylor are working together to review accounts and fix allocation and expense reporting. Mr. Litke noted that the Auditor has required GPH to create separate, identifiable funds for “other” expenditures. Observer Note: The Budget Commission has repeatedly tabled GPH’s fund balance adjustment requests, most recently at the September 29, 2025 Budget Commission Meeting because 1) there wasn’t enough time to vet the numbers and 2) many forms had not been executed by the proper authority. The Budget Commission sent GPH a “pink sheet” that provides entities with information on what they need to do to correct problems with submissions so that they can correct them and resubmit. The LWVG Observer Report on this meeting is available here. At the subsequent Budget Commission meeting on October 6, 2025, it was clarified that the “proper authority” issue was that the fund balance adjustments lacked original signatures from the GPH Board. The LWVG Observer Report on the October 6, 2025 Budget Commission meeting is available here.
Additional discussion of budget items is below under New Business.
Mrs. Roman asked about the $27,800 vital statistic expense. Mr. Litke said it is GPH’s quarterly payment to the State for death and birth certificate fees, noting that the State receives a huge percentage of the total. Mrs. Roman also inquired about the $69,000+ payment to HS GovTech. Mr. Litke said it was for HealthSpace that will allow GPH to provide inspection reports online. See Citizen’s comments for additional discussion of HealthSpace.
Mrs. Roman asked about the “miscellaneous” $10,000 payment to Lake County Health District and was told it was for Safe Communities programming in April.
Mrs. Roman asked for clarification for Fund 6037 “For Sale of Property.” Mr. Litke explained that the fund was technically “gone,” but they had planned to use it for the new O & M fund and had allocated funds for it. Mr. Litke said that in order to get rid of a fund category, you are required to let it sit idle with no transactions for five years. However, during the last Budget Commission meeting, they directed GPH to create a separate O & M fund. He said in the meantime, they are spending the account down, primarily for HealthSpace expenses. He told the Board that Ms. Taylor would be presenting appropriations to them next month for a new O & M fund (#6043).
Dr. Jones asked how much of a burden the fund changes and budget adjustments have been and “if that is an area of risk for losing track of our money.” Mr. Litke said no, everything has been well-documented and noted the goal is to reduce the administrative load and be transparent. He commented that Ms. Taylor has been reviewing the budget to determine which account should be used for which expense. Rather than go back over all the timesheets and other data, they used a third person who was able to calculate the percentage of charges per account to help them determine expenses.
Mrs. Roman asked what health guidelines GPH is following given recent messaging from HHS, saying “I am having a very hard time following.” Other Board members agreed. Mr. Litke said GPH “operates status quo” and will continue to provide vaccines unless they can’t get them or the cost is prohibitive, in which case the patient would be referred to their primary healthcare provider or UH.
Dr. Jones noted that health guideline discussions are ongoing and many physician groups are seeking additional expert guidance or following different guidance than the CDC. She said it’s hard to have a process without knowing what the recommendations are. She agreed with Mr. Litke that GPH should operate “status quo” without adding confusion which can add to vaccine hesitancy. They are following childhood vaccine schedules as before.
Mr. Litke said the hardest part is that over the past year, fewer pediatricians are offering vaccines due to the cost and fear of liability. In the past, pediatricians have handled children and GPH has served uninsured or underinsured adults. Mr. Litke said they are now trying to figure out how to address this change- how much and what kind of vaccines to stock, for example- as they “haven’t done that in a very long time.” He noted that the partnership between Lake and Geauga health departments and with UH allows for flexibility in supplies and nursing coverage.
A discussion followed about vaccines and the challenges GPH nurses face with intake procedures due to limited staffing and lack of access to patient health records. Mr. Litke stated the increased demand has put a strain on the nursing staff and said, “we don’t have the funding or structure to meet the changing needs.”
Dr. Jones asked if there was a “hotspot” that patients are coming from and if GPH should meet with those entities to help GPH better prepare to address the need. Mr. Litke said GPH does reach out to physicians, using an example of moving an Amish clinic to a more convenient location for the community that resulted in a “skyrocketing” number of patients.
Dr. Hendrickson commented on the current public resistance to vaccinations from some members of the public, saying in the past “you couldn’t go to school without them.” The group agreed that the governmental response to COVID vaccines pushed parents too far and created a backlash. Mr. Litke predicted “the pendulum will (eventually) swing back the other way.” He said increasing accessibility to clinics at convenient locations such as Walmart would improve participation.
Mr. Litke said they currently have enough flu vaccines but, unlike in the past, they have to keep requesting it. Their partnership with Lake ensures they have enough supply. Mr. Litke praised the nurses and talked about the challenges of building and maintaining a team due to limited funds.
Old Business – No Old Business
New Business – The following Resolutions were unanimously approved:
Reviewer Note: There was one payment to Lake County for the Cross-Jurisdictional Agreement of $149,043.94. The detail describes this as April 2025 salaries. Total Expenses to date are listed as 34.66%, with 75% of the year completed.
As reported earlier, the Budget Commission had tabled GPH’s Fund Balance Adjustments request at the September 29, 2025, Budget Commission Meeting because 1) there wasn’t enough time to vet the numbers and 2) the submission lacked original signatures from the GPH Board. The previous request had included adjustments on invoices that had not yet been paid; only those that had been paid can be adjusted.
Ms. Taylor said she had prepared two different requests: one includes the For Sale of Property fund (#6037) and the second removes that fund. As noted earlier, she said if they include 6037, its funds will be depleted. They want to avoid this action as the account is still active. Ms. Taylor expressed concern about what the Budget Commission wants, including whether they will allow GPH to omit the 6037 adjustment or not.
She created two requests in the interest of time, noting that if their request is approved by the Budget Commission at their October meeting, the GPH can approve it at their November Board meeting. Otherwise, approval could be pushed until December, which Mr. Litke said was undesirable.
There was a discussion about the risks of signing and/or submitting both requests. It was noted that Fund 6037 is still needed to pay outstanding invoices from May through October to Lake County. The Board also agreed it would look “strange” to present a second approved request at the same session. It was decided to have Ms. Taylor present the preferred request that excludes the 6037 fund. Mr. Litke said presenting a single request had been his and Ms. Taylor’s preference, but they felt the Board should be given the option.
The Board scheduled a Special Meeting on October 29 at 5:00 pm to approve a resolution on the alternate request in the event the Budget Commission tables the first request. Observer Note: A GPH Fund Balance Adjustment was not discussed by the Budget Commission at its October 20, 2025 meeting. Ms. Taylor informed this Observer subsequently that the Fund Balance Adjustments will be presented at the next Budget Commission meeting scheduled for November 3, 2025. Reviewer Note: Ms. Taylor reported via email on October 28, 2025 that a GPH Special Meeting was not being held on October 29.
Reviewer Note: The following was stated in the Agenda: Prepared by Dr. Matthew Nichols of Four Springs Health, LLC, on behalf of Geauga Public Health and University Hospitals, the 2025 Geauga County Community Health Assessments identifies and prioritizes Geauga County’s current health needs. This document meets both Public Health Accreditation Board and Internal Revenue Service requirements for non-profit hospitals. Once approved, this assessment will be the basis for the upcoming 2026-2028 Geauga County Community Health Improvement Plan.
Mr. Lark explained that they were simply changing the name of the camp to what it’s legally called in the State code.
Citizen Remarks
Executive Session – None
Adjourned - The Board adjourned at 6:20 pm.
Next Regular Meeting: November 19, 2025 at 5:00 pm. All meetings are held at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B 167-168, Chardon, OH.
More Information and Board minutes can be found here: Geauga Public Health
Observer: Rooney Moy
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Submission Date: 10/26/2025
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