GMHA Board Learns About Potential Impacts of Federal Government Shutdown
Geauga Metropolitan Housing Authority (GMHA) - October 28, 2025
Meeting Info: Regular meeting held on October 28, 2025 at 4:00 pm (EST) in the Conference Room at Murray Manor at 385 Center Street, Chardon, OH 44024. This meeting was rescheduled from the regular meeting date to accommodate staff availability. This meeting was in-person only.
Agenda: An agenda was provided at the meeting. It is not available online. The documented
proceedings below follow the agenda and are presented sequentially.
1. Call to Order - 4:00 pm
2. Attendance: Chairperson Jeff Markley, and board members Susan Kemerrer, Sandy Grassman, and Michael Petruziello were present. Board member Walter (Skip) Claypool was absent.
Staff Attendance: Dawn Farrell, Executive Director, and Carrie Carlson, Chief Financial Officer.
Others Present: This Observer and three other members of the public were in attendance.
Observer Note: The Executive Director indicated they were recording the audio of the meeting.
3. Pledge of Allegiance - Recited
4. Discussion/Approval of Minutes: September Special and Regular Meetings
Minutes from the September 29th special meeting and the September 15th regular meeting were reviewed. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes. The motion was carried unanimously.
5. Financial Statements
The chief financial officer, Ms. Carrie Carlson, presented financial statements covering public housing, Section 8, and federal funds through September 2025.
Ms. Carlson said that in the Miscellaneous item there were some legal expenses.
A motion was approved to receive the financial statements. The motion was carried unanimously.
6. Commissioner’s Report
Board Chair Markley noted a request from the absent board member (Mr. Claypool) that information be sent sooner to provide more time for review of materials before the meeting.
Director Farrell acknowledged that this month she had been at a conference and Ms. Carlson was on vacation. Mr. Markley said that the information about the need for shut-off valve work had just come to him the day before and that didn’t give them a lot of time to collect information. Mr. Markley also said that he would have liked the Maintenance Manager, Alan Kobe, to have been invited to attend the meeting.
7. Report of Counsel - Nothing was reported.
8. Report of the Director
Ms. Farrell provided updates on ongoing programs, capital efforts, and regulatory matters across the agency as
detailed below.
Federal Government Shutdown: Ms. Farrell reported that there didn’t appear to be any movement to end the shutdown. She said that they had funding through November and that they had reserves that could be used if the shutdown continued into December. There was discussion about how the funds could be accessed. Mr. Markley suggested that Ms. Farrell should reach out to their accountant (Salvatore Consiglio, CPA, Inc.) to determine the best way to utilize the funds and whether these funds would need to be appropriated.
Ms. Farrell said that all their funding comes from the federal government.
She also raised the issue of the impact of residents losing access to SNAP benefits for food assistance. She said that they will be posting resources available from United Way, food pantries, community meals, and ways to apply for rental assistance.
Mr. Markley suggested that a note be sent to all residents reminding them of their responsibility (according to their contractual obligations with GMHA) to pay their rent and to budget accordingly. He said he thought it was a “teaching opportunity” and mentioned that the residents should be encouraged to do good budgeting and forego vacations and discretionary purchases. He said this was just his opinion and not a Board directive.
Programs Report: Board members confirmed receipt of the September Programs Report, which included updates on vacancies, work orders, and waiting lists. There were no questions except for discussion below.
There was a discussion about the issue of leaking toilets in Murray Manor and the responsibility of tenants to report issues. It was reported that tenants could not have heard that the toilets were leaking because these toilets have an air bladder. (See discussion below in the Agenda about a suggested contract to address another related issue with Murray Manor plumbing.)
9. RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration)
Ms. Farrell reported that she heard from their consultant, Mike Andrews, who apologized for the delay in his assistance. Ms. Farrell said that she could wait for Mike Andrews or go with another consultant. Ms Farrell said that she has contacted another possible consultant for RAD. She received a quote of “up to $25,000, at an hourly rate of $225,” from Nathan Bondar, LDG, LIHTC Development Group. Mr. Petruziello wanted there to be more discussion and information before signing a contract.
There was a discussion about how the consultant could be helpful. Ms. Farrell said that they need to prepare a Financial Plan. They have gotten an extension until next September, but it still needs to be done.
Mr Markley said that he would like to see a bulleted list of pros and cons for the RAD conversion. Ms. Farrell said that would be in the presentation that their prior consultant, Mike Andrews, had made to the Board. Observer Note: See LWVGeauga report from November 6, 2024 for a list of pros and cons.
Ms. Farrell said that it was her opinion that HUD really wants everyone to convert to RAD.
Mr Petruziello said that his concern was that then GMHA would be responsible for capital improvements and repairs.
Ms Farrell said that GMHA could cancel any time until they make a formal commitment. Ms. Farrell said this would mean they could finish their application, receive a CHAP (Commitment to Housing) and could cancel any time up until they sign the RCC (RAD Conversion Commitment). The Financial Plan is just to hold their place in the process.
Ms. Farrell said that an advantage is that under RAD they could generate and retain income. Mr. Markley wanted to know if, under RAD, they could restrict tenants to those from Geauga County. Ms. Farrell said she wasn’t sure, but that definitely some HUD (Housing and Urban Development) requirements would no longer apply. Mr. Markley suggested moving forward with the contract with Mr. Bondar. Mr. Petruziello wanted Mr. Bondar’s references to be called, and Ms. Kemmerer volunteered to do that.
Motion passed to give Ms. Farrell the authority to approve the contract if the references were positive, with Mr. Petruziello voting no.
10. ACOP (Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy) and ADMIN (Administrative Plan) Changes
Ms. Farrell said that a 45 day comment policy is going on now and is advertised on their website. The new changes to ACOP and ADMIN can be viewed in the office. See more information here. She said that there will be a change from 180 to 90 days for notice for ACOP. See current policy here and here. These policies are modeled on HUD policies but there can be variations.
11. NSPIRE (National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate)
Ms. Farrell reported that the NSPIRE inspections required by HUD will take place October 30 and 31st. She said that there have been numerous notifications to residents, including text messages and advance inspections by maintenance. She said that the inspections are random and they will only be looking at interior space within apartments. She also said that this inspection requirement might be one that “goes away” with RAD.
12. Housing Update
Property insurance rates will go up only slightly, which was welcome news according to Ms Farrell.
13. Good News
Ms. Farrell reported on two positive outcomes. One tenant remarked on the quick response to a reasonable accommodation request, and another expressed their appreciation for a repair that was completed.
14. Old Business
The Board revisited a draft Code of Conduct that had raised concerns at prior meetings. Observer Note: See the August 20, 2024 GMHA Observer Report for details.
At the September meeting Mr. Claypool expressed various objections. Observer Note: See September 16, 2025 LWVGeauga Observer Report for details.
Since Mr. Claypool was not present at this meeting, the decision was deferred again.
15. New Business
Proposed HCV (Housing Choice Voucher) 2026 Budget: There was a discussion on what additional steps could be taken to encourage more use of this program. Ms. Farrell said that area rents are going up and that availability of rental units is down because people are not moving out. She discussed an approach that would include Mobile Home communities, even though the tenants own their unit. She said that they have a goal to increase landlord outreach and another goal to do a pre-inspection so that landlords know if there will be any issues. Reviewer Note: Learn more about this HUD program to help low-income families, elderly persons, veterans and disabled individuals afford housing in the private market here.
Mr. Markley said he thought it was okay even though there was a “little red.”
Mr. Petruziello asked for the budget from five years ago. Mr. Markley asked about what they can do to “sell the services of GMHA.”
Motion made to approve the Proposed Budget - passed unanimously.
Proposed PH (Public Housing) 2026 Budget: They used a reduced figure for rental income next year. Ms. Farrell said that their accountant has told her that he will no longer be able to provide this service to GMHA after January. She said that she anticipates that there will be a “significant increase” in the cost for this service.
Mr. Petruziello said he wanted to wait to vote on this as “the other Commissioner (Mr. Claypool)" wanted to discuss the Budget. He clarified this remark to say that Mr. Claypool wanted input into the preparation of the yearly budget, not just the content of this budget. Ms. Kemmerer said that she thought preparation of the budget was a staff function. There was discussion to approve the budget and then at a later time they could discuss Mr. Claypool’s point about the Board being part of the creation of the budget.
Motion made to approve Proposed PH Budget - Approved unanimously.
Murray Manor Plumbing: The Board discussed a proposal submitted by Formica Plumbing. Ms. Carlson said it was needed to repair shut-off valves, which are badly corroded. She said that 12 of these are critical and need to be done immediately and that it would be prudent to replace the remaining 64. The estimate was for $8,250 for the 12 that are critical and an estimate of $69,000 to do all units (including the 12). Mr. Petruziello said that he wanted to talk with Alan (maintenance manager Alan Kobe). He also said that his opinion was that their 5 member maintenance crew could do this work. Ms. Carlson said that this would necessitate a lot of shut-offs as they would have to do the work as they could and not all at once.
Ms. Carlson said that this company had replaced the leaking toilets. She reported that replacing the five leaking toilets cost $3,900.
Mr. Petruziello made a motion to table this until the next meeting. There was no second.
Mr Markley suggested that they move ahead with the 12 that are critical and have the Maintenance Manager come to the next meeting. Approved, with Mr. Petruziello voting no.
16. Hearing of the Public
None.
17. Executive Session
The Board entered into Executive Session at 6:10 pm to discuss personnel actions.
Observer Note: This Observer left the meeting at this point, as did the three other members of the public.
Ms. Farrell reported that there was no action taken following the Executive Session and that the Board adjourned after they returned from Executive Session in follow up communication with this observer.
Adjournment
It is not known at what time the meeting adjourned.
Next Meeting: The next regular meeting of the Board is November 18, 2025, at 4:00 pm at Murray Manor. More information about the Geauga Metropolitan Housing Authority can be found here.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Date Submitted: October 30, 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.