GCPL Pushing Back on New Chardon Branch Construction Cost Escalations
Geauga County Public Library (GCPL) - October 21, 2025
Meeting: The GCPL Board met on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 4:00 pm at the Thompson Branch. This Board Meeting was in-person with a virtual attendance option. To access the virtual option see information here. The meeting was not recorded. Minutes of this meeting will be posted on the GCPL website after they are approved at the November 18, 2025 meeting.
Observer Note: Each member of the GCPL Board and Staff receives a copy of the meeting packet, as does this Observer. It is available upon request in accordance with Ohio public records law (ORC 149.43). The board discusses and votes on the information in the packet. This Observer Report is made up of discussions held at the board meeting and information taken from the board packet.
Public Comment: Permitted and included in the regular order of business per GCPL bylaws. Further clarified in Policy 215 - Public Participation at Board Meetings.
Board Attendance: President Karen Delano, Vice President Kristen Brickman, Secretary Crist Miller and Board Trustees Joshua Hutchinson, Kate Pitrone, Paul Newman and Jake Yanchar
Library Staff Attendance:
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Kris Carroll - Director
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Katy Farrell - Assistant Director, Recording Secretary
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Lisa Havlin - Fiscal Officer
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Nicole Burnside - Human Resources
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Deborah Schrock - Development Coordinator
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Erika Noark - Geauga West Branch Manager
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Mary Balog - Thompson Branch Manager
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Rachael Hartman - Middlefield Branch Manager
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Mike Pope - IT Manager
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John Johnston - Facilities Manager
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Judy Lasco - Chardon Branch Manager
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Danielle Hollar - Bainbridge Branch Manager (attended online)
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Marlene Pelyhes - Tech Services Manager
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Denise Javins - Marketing Manager
Guests: none
President Karen Delano called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm and roll call was taken.
Minutes: Minutes of the September 15, 2025 Board Meeting were approved as presented. Board minutes are available online. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to access minutes. The minutes are posted as soon as they are approved at the following month’s Board meeting. Prior to March 2023, videos of meetings were available to the public here. GCPL is no longer posting videos of their meetings.
Communications: Two thank you cards from library patrons
Agenda: The agenda presented in the Board packet was approved with no changes.
Fiscal Officer’s Report - Ms. Havlin
Director’s Report - Ms. Carroll
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Ms Carroll attended the Ohio Library Council (OLC) Director’s update meeting in Cleveland Heights. They discussed legislation regarding property taxes including House Bill (HB) 137, sponsored by Rep. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell). This bill allows a taxing authority to block a library from placing a property tax levy on the ballot. Under HB 137, the decision to move a library’s levy request to the county board of elections would rest solely with the taxing authority. This would strip public libraries of their ability to advocate for local funding and deny communities the opportunity to vote on vital library support.
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At the September 15 GCPL Board Executive Session, the Board reviewed and approved the creation of three full-time Youth Services Assistant positions. They also changed the Organization chart to have just two Heads of Youth Services systemwide. The three Youth Services Assistant positions were posted on October 1, and 8 internal candidates applied. Interviewing has begun.
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On September 25, Ms Carroll and Ms Havlin met with Karen Pavlat, CFO and Scott Amstultz, Director of Operations for the West Geauga School District to discuss the district’s plan to install a new well on property shared by GCPL and West Geauga School District. The school representatives made a verbal request for $6,000 in funding, along with a 50% contribution toward the total project cost. Afterwards Ms Carroll consulted with legal counsel and reviewed the terms of the land lease. Based on that review, the school was asked to provide documentation outlining the library’s water usage as a percentage of the total property usage, as well as copies of contracts related to the well installation and trenching. So far the school has not provided any information.
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On October 24 and 25, GCPL will hold a garage sale to clear out excess equipment and supplies in the Administrative Center.
Chardon Branch Project
The Owner-Architect-Construction Manager (OAC) meetings reached a stalemate on October 8 due to significant cost escalations related to construction even though there have been cuts in size and building components. Following the meeting, the administrative team scheduled separate follow-up meetings with both the Construction Manager at Risk (CMR) and the Architect to better understand the scope and implications of the cost increases. One of the key factors driving cost escalation is the potential site work and current site design. Specifically, there is a possibility that extensive soil remediation may be required Observer’s Note: The Observer asked about this during Public Comment inquiring whether the soil was contaminated. This isn’t the case. Rather there is difficulty with the clay soil, since no building has ever stood on the site. Also, the current parking lot design appears to exceed the budget.
Originally the project was projected to be $17 million. After the sale of the Administrative Center the cost to add the Administrative Center to the Chardon Project was estimated to be $3.2 million which had been the sale price.
Reviewer Note: See July 17, 2025 Maple Leaf article about letter of intent signed with Geauga County for the sale of the Administrative Center.
GCPL has these non-negotiables:
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25,000 sq. ft. for the Chardon Branch
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8,000 sq. ft. for the Administrative Center
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Budget $16,750 for construction, $20,200 total budget.
GCPL wants to stick to the 20.2M budget, find the most cost effective location for the building on the site, get the building under roof and get the parking lot done. This would get the building open to patrons even if the Administration Center staff could not move into the new location immediately.
At the meeting, the Bostwick Design team said that the amount of curbing and islands in the parking lot seemed excessive, therefore costly. These items were driven by the City of Chardon ordinances and they asked if the library could receive a variance. Also discussed was a two story option (which would require the added expense of an elevator) and other roof options (sloped instead of peaked).
The committee confirmed that the library should contract for more soil bearings and confirm parking lot options.
Assistant Director’s Report - Ms. Farrell
September 2025 Statistics:
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458 people signed up in September’s Library Card Sign-Up Month
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37,565 patrons served at the branches
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3,416 computer and 15,910 wi-fi uses
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207 programs presented for 4,090 patrons
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11,592 reference and circulation interactions
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Total circulation of items: 251,985
Observer Note: The board packet contains a report of activities from all branches and departments. This is under the heading of the Assistant Director’s Report. The report includes Patron feedback reported at the branches. The host/local branch manager gives an oral report at the board meeting.
This month’s branch was Thompson and a report was given by Mary Balog, Thompson Branch manager.
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The branch will hold a 5th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, November 1. The branch opened during the Covid lockdown and did not have a Grand Opening.
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Thompson has a new outreach partnership with Global Connections Academy which is located in the former Ledgemont School. The library holds regular storytime visits for preschool and kindergarten students, and issued 45 Geauga County Public Library cards to the Academy students.
Bainbridge
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Homeschool Picture Day brought in 86 patrons, attracting participants from every part of the county.
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Bainbridge Makerspace had 216 reservations this September. In September 2024, there were 174 reservations. Equipment is being switched between Bainbridge and the Chardon Creativity Center to ensure that patrons have access to the best machines.
Chardon
Geauga West
Middlefield
Human Resources - Ms. Burnside
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Board approval obtained on 1 new hire, 2 promotions, 2 employees leaving and 10 quarterly outstanding services awards.
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The State of Ohio will be increasing the minimum wage to $11.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2026.
Committee Reports -Facilities Committee Meeting October 13
Summarized under Chardon Branch Project above.
Unfinished Business - None
New Business – None
Foundation Report - Ms. Schrock
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The Foundation is actively preparing its end-of-year appeal, focusing on sharing the impact of library programs and engaging the library’s community of supporters.
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Mini Golf sponsorship packets will be distributed by the end of October for the upcoming event scheduled March 14th, 2026.
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The Friends Committee held a Graphic Novel, Science, and Fantasy Pop-Up Book Sale in Chardon on October 4th. The three hour sale netted $918.00. The event drew about 55 patrons.
Public Comment - The Observer asked about the soil samples, items in the garage sale and makerspace equipment. The answers have been incorporated into the report.
Executive Session - none
The meeting adjourned at 4:28 pm.
Upcoming Events:
Next Meeting: The next Regular Board meeting is November 18th at 4:00 pm at the Administration Building. See website for information on meeting dates and locations.
Observer: Cris Takacs
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Carol Benton
Date Submitted: 11/5/2025
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