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Commissioners Brakey and Spidalieri Spar Over Public Comment Policy Changes

Board of County Commissioners Meeting - February 19, 2026 

Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Thursday,  February 19, 2026 at 9:30 am for a meeting at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH.  This meeting was on a Thursday due to the Monday holiday.  Meetings can be live streamed through the Geauga ADP Youtube channel and can be accessed here by scrolling down and clicking on the section for YouTube videos.  Recordings are available for the public. This meeting can be found here.  As of this report’s publication date, the video has been viewed 410 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.

Public Comment Policy: Permitted as outlined in the BOCC’s Public Comment Policy that was adopted on January 28, 2025, revised on April 15, 2025, and again modified on September 30, 2025.  Observer Note:  See changes to this Policy approved later in the meeting.

Attendance: Present were Commissioners Carolyn Brakey, James Dvorak and Ralph Spidalieri.  Also present were Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Amy Bevan, Deputy County Administrator Mark Jimison, and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.

County Representatives: Linda Crombie, Director, Planning Commission; Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP; Celesta Mullins, Recorder; Jessica Boalt, Director, Office on Aging; Craig Swenson, Executive Director, Job and Family Services (JFS); Bob Weigel, Maintenance Director; Charles Tkach, Program Manager, Maintenance; Nick Gorris, Director, Water Resources; Matt Granito, Dog Warden.

Others in Attendance: Chief Deputy Sheriff Thomas Rowan; ADP technicians for video; Anastasia Nicholas, Chagrin Valley Times reporter; Steven Oluic, President, Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and candidate for County Commissioner; Allison Wilson, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter; Tom and Diane Jones; members of the public; and this Observer.

8:37 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer (Commissioner Dvorak)

9:30 Min. Public Comment on Agenda Items - Ms. Bevan noted that this would be for comment on Agenda items only. There were no comments from the public.

9:42 Min. Administrator’s Report - Ms. Bevan reported on the following actions she took on February 13 and 17:

• Accepted resignation of Deputy Dog Warden Patricia Evans, to be effective February 3, 2026.

• Agreed with Hambden Township in not requiring a hearing on a liquor license requested by We Be Good LLC for the Hambone, Rock Creek Road.

• Agreed with Bainbridge Township on not requiring a hearing on a liquor license for The Hive of Chagrin Falls.

• Approved and executed an agreement for the Department on Aging between the BOCC and HZW Environmental Consultants LLC to perform phase 1 environmental site assessment services to Geauga County at the property located at 12701 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon in the amount of $2,600. 

• Agreed with hiring of a full-time Social Services Worker (Department on Aging), to be effective March 16, 2026.

• Concurred with Newbury Township trustees in not requiring a hearing for a liquor license for Geauga Station Convenience Store,  Kinsman Road, Newbury, Ohio.

11:54 Min. Minutes - Minutes were approved for the meetings of November 4, 2025 and November 13, 2025.

Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through February 19, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through October 28, 2025.  

12:15 Min. Financial Report - Mr. Gorton received approval for the following:

Supplementals in the general fund capital transfers-out account to prepare additional funding for upcoming projects and in the revolving loan fund in preparation for the purchase of a property. 

Cash transfer from the Juvenile Probate Court general fund salaries accounts to the unemployment compensation fund. 

Transfer from the general fund to court technology for a portion of their 2026 funding.

Incumbrances - Formal contract from the Commissioners to the John F. Gallagher Plumbing Company Inc. for the West Geauga Senior Center condenser project. 

Vouchers 

• $34,750 from the Board of Developmental Disabilities to Portman Electric Incorporated for a new generator for House C and D.

• $27,330 from the Commissioners to Kash Moving Corp for the relocation of courthouse staff from the old courthouse and 470 Center Street into the new courthouse. 

Mrs. Brakey asked if the revolving loan fund was for the library administration building and Mr. Gorton said that it was.

13:35 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval to authorize the President of the Board to execute the County Auditor’s Current Agricultural Use Valuation Renewal Application form DTE 109 (A) for Parcel No. 13-015313. Mr. Gorton discussed that the lease on this property ends, and the property owner is hopeful that the property will go back to use for agricultural purposes.  This year will be designated as an idle year.

15:40 Min. The Planning Commission received approval to execute Resolution #26-026 to Designate the Geauga County Planning Commission as the Agency to prepare all materials and submit the application on behalf of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners for the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) Land Use Planning Grant 2025, and the Grant Funds will be used to Update the 2008 Geauga County Farmland Preservation Plan. Ms. Crombie, Planning Director, said that she found out that the grant application has to be made by the Commissioners, although the work will continue to be done by the Planning Commission.

17:08 Min. The Recorder’s Office received approval for a funding request for the implementation and compliance to meet the statutory deadline of the requirements put forth in Senate Bill 94 (SB94) to make electronic versions of all instruments recorded on or after January 1, 1980 with exceptions from disclosure pursuant to the O.R.C. and applicable federal and state law.  The request was for $85,000.00.  Ms. Mullins and Mr. Antenucci discussed that the work to be done is required by a change in law, but also will be beneficial to those looking for information online.  They also both talked about the fact that there could be some state reimbursement and Ms. Mullins said she would apply.  Mrs. Brakey asked about having ADP do some of the work and it was discussed that ADP could do some of the work, especially involving historical records.  The breakdown of cost in this “hybrid” approach would then be $45,000 to the vendor (SydlerTechnologies) and $18,000 to ADP, with a reduced cost (from the $85,000) to a total of $63,000.  Commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the hybrid approach.

22:57 Min. The Department on Aging received approval to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging contract with Geauga County Department on Aging for SFY 2026 HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) Outreach program for Geauga Seniors Age 60 and over, for the period September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, in the amount of $3,409.83. Ms. Boalt said that they just received the contract on February 10, many months later than usual.  Mrs. Brakey asked about the administrative burden of the grant, and Ms. Boalt said that they are set up with a spreadsheet and she didn’t foresee that it would be a burden.

25:26 Min. The Department of Job and Family Services received approval to apply for a Commercial Card Program Account with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank for a new credit card with a requested credit line of $20,000.00 and ten cards, in accordance with Section 7.5, Use of Agency Credit Cards, of the Job and Family Services Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual that once approved will generate a Commercial Card Application and Agreement. Mr. Swenson said that this is the first step, allowing them to pursue the idea, but that they would be returning for final approval.  He said that these would be cards that would not have individual names on them, and would be kept in a safe until they are needed by an individual worker.  

30:58 Min. The Maintenance Department received approval to execute Change Order #1, increasing the Contract with 5K Commercial Roofing, LLC for spare material, rafter tail redesign, and a change in slate installation method related to the Geauga County Maintenance Barn Roof Replacement project and authorizing expenditure of owner’s contingency funds of $8,015.95 of the available $25,000.00, which will leave a remaining balance of $16,984.05.

31:55 Min. The Department of Water Resources received approval for the following:

• To authorize Ralph Spidalieri as the authorized representative, to execute the Request for Partial Payment #8 for Shook Construction Company for the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project in the amount of $914,815.29. Observer Note:  During the video Mr. Gorris said, $917,815.29.  This Observer confirmed with Mr. Gorris that the correct amount was what was listed on the Agenda: $914,815.29.  Mr. Gorris said that this request will be paid in full using ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds.  They will use the rest of the ARPA funds on their next request.

• To execute the service Contract Agreement with Hannon Electric Company to perform 25 days of onsite PLC/HMI/SCADA programming services for the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant and Electrical work including motor and blower service and repairs, as needed, at various locations within the department for a one-year period in an amount not to exceed $37,000.00 ($32,000.00 Annual Cost of PLC/HMI/SCADA programming services billed $8,000.00 per Quarter and $5,000.00 for as needed motor/blower electric work). Observer Note:  See explanation here for PLC/MHI/SCADA.

33:59 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:

• To acknowledge Parkman Township Trustees withdrawal of its objection to the Liquor Permit requested by TORRESS LLC, TACOS422 located at 16220 Main Market Road, Parkman, Ohio (OCT NEW 10011242-1) and to also withdraw the County’s objection to the liquor permit request and request for hearing.

• To employ Mazanec, Raskin and Ryder Co., L.P.A. for continued representation concerning the defense of the mandamus and procedendo actions pending in the Eleventh District Court of Appeals to wit: State of Ohio ex rel. Judge Timothy Grendell v. Geauga County Board of Commissioners et al., case number 25G0028 pursuant to R.C. 309.09 (C) and further approve and authorize the President of the Board to execute the Hourly Fee Agreement with the law firm of Mazanec, Raskin and Ryder Co., L.P.A. since the CORSA (County Risk Sharing Authority) coverage has been exhausted in the amount not to exceed $15,000.00 unless prior approval by the Board.  Mrs. Brakey said that she would vote for the resolution but added that “it is unfortunate that the taxpayers are going to have to pay to defend this suit… but it’s better than having to pay Judge Grendell’s legal fees.”

• To execute a Letter to the Chardon City Council requesting to secure five (5) additional parking spaces located near the Courthouse for County parking purposes during regular working hours. Ms. Bevan said she has had conversions with Chardon City Manager Ben Young.  She said that this letter would go to the City Manager, and they would then draft an amendment to their code and submit it to their Council for a vote on March 12 and would take effect 30 days later.

38:03 Min. Discussion about the Second Amendment to the Policy on Public Comment during Board of County Commissioners’ Meetings, to be effective February 19, 2026. 

Ms. Bevan said that the major changes would be to limit public comment for the two periods permitted to 15 minutes each.  The other question to be resolved was who should manage public comments- either Ms. Bevan as County Administrator or the President of the BOCC (a rotating position which is now held by Mr. Dvorak). She said that she would still be the time keeper.  She said that, “All in an effort to streamline sessions and make these as business-oriented as possible and then perhaps down the road looking for other venues where we can more deliberately engage the public on important topics of interest.” Observer Note:  As the discussion proceeded it was clear that this time period could be extended by a vote of the Commissioners.  Mrs. Brakey clarified that one additional change is that “folks will no longer have to state their full address.”  Mrs Brakey also noted that last year was the first time “this Board had a formal public comment policy.”  Mrs. Brakey further said that she had no opinion on who should control public comment so she deferred to Mr. Dvorak who said that he thought whoever was President should control public comment.

Mrs. Brakey moved to approve with that clarification and Mr. Spidalieri interrupted her and said he wanted to make a statement.  She said, “you interrupted me. So, I could make my motion first?” Looking to Mr. Dvorak, she asked, “Chair, can I finish my motion?”  Mr. Dvorak said, “Finish your motion and then we'll let….” Mrs. Brakey continued, “someone can second it and then we can have discussion. That's how Robert's Rules work.” 

Observer Note:  There was no vote at this time and discussion started with Mr. Spidalieri.

42:00 Min. Mr. Spidalieri said,“ I would say this as you know based on the comments in the past, we haven't had a policy because if people wanted to speak they could speak and we didn't give them a time limit. We didn't give them a restraint of how long they wanted to talk. I think that this is really an injustice to our residents and taxpayers of restricting these to 15 minutes at three minutes apiece to basically limit it to five residents to be able to speak, especially when we just came off of a couple of weeks of so many residents taking the time to come out to express their position on issues. I just think that this is you know I'm not surprised by this because it's one of those situations where I think that you . . . you know the oven is getting hot so you're turning on the freezer to try to cool things down. I think that this is you know it's an injustice to the residents. I think that they should be able to speak. I think there's issues where 3 minutes is not enough time to be able to explain their position or situation of what we have. We've heard people talking about tax issues, the NOACA issues, just concerns about government in general, and I think that we're really turning off the voice of the public in a sense where we're silencing them.”

Mr. Spidalieri continued to express his concerns about the policy.

Mrs. Brakey said, “Ralph (Mr. Spidalieri), I sat through two years of Commissioner meetings in the back of the room where you often did not have public comment.”

Observer Note:  The public comment policy was approved January 28, 2025 and has had several revisions. The third revision, which was adopted on September 30, 2025, added an additional public comment period at the beginning of the meeting on any Agenda item so that the public is able to comment before a vote is taken.  Prior to January 2025, there was no formal policy and public comment was not routine or listed on the Agenda.  During 2024 when Mr. Spidalieri was President of the Board, there was no formal public comment policy and meetings were not available for livestreaming or on video.  During all meetings covered by LWVG observers, only two, October 10, 2024 and October 17, 2024, occurred in which no public comment was permitted. In prior years, public comment was less likely to occur.  In 2023, when Mr. Spidalieri was also President, the year started with ad hoc public comment after the meeting on January 19, 2023 followed by some public comment on January 24, 2023 when Mr. Spidalieri said, “This year we’re not taking public comments but last week there were a number of people who wanted to talk about NOACA.” He then said they would hear from 2 people for up to five minutes each.  He called on Mr. Walter Claypool and Mr. Jonathan Broadbent. He then said they would hear from an additional 2 people for up to five minutes each but permitted three people to speak.  At the April 11, 2023 meeting, Commissioner Spidalieri announced that public comment would be allowed for short remarks. He said there would be a more formal policy in the future, and that there would be a time limit due to the fact that there are usually Directors of Departments attending and they need to get back to their Departments. He emphasized that there should be no personal attacks, no “bashing people.”  Comments were permitted at this meeting.  Public Comments continued to be permitted for the majority of the rest of 2023 except on August 8, August 31, September 12, October 12, November 28 and December 28, 2023. Mr. Spidalieri was present for all these meetings but did not open the floor for public comment.  All links noted above are for LWVGeauga Observer Reports.

Mrs. Brakey said, “I was at the dog warden meeting right before I took office. I mean, there was one woman that spoke probably for 10 minutes and then eventually you were like, ‘Hey, you got to limit it to three minutes.’ But that's a real first amendment issue because then the people that subsequently spoke there were time limits imposed that weren't imposed on those prior people. So, these are just rules in place so that people can make their voices heard.”

Mr. Spidalieri said, “as far as the dog warden issue. You know, and that one is near and dear to me also. I think that, you know, people came out in droves because of the fact that, you know, to basically call out Commissioner Dvorak on what his approach was on that of the potential of dogs dying and being put to sleep. And that's one of the biggest things, that was the the biggest concern of that whole issue was people coming out to express their concerns on that and to try to support our dog warden to be able to restore somehow some way that we can continue to move forward with our dog program that we have in place with the adoption.” Observer Note:  There was a heated exchange which can be seen at Minute 48:24 - 49:49.

Mr. Dvorak said he was comfortable as long as the Commissioners could extend the time limit for a “hot topic.”

Mr. Spidalieri said he would support a motion to have the President control the discussion but not limit the time for public comment.

The motion passed 2-1, with Mr. Spidalieri voting no, at which time Mr. Spidalieiri said, “I’m sorry residents.”

51:50 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #26-027 Honoring Leadership Geauga 2026 Emerald Leader Award Winner, Ann Blair.

52:15 Min. Board Discussion – 

• 2026 Cost Allocation and matching the Maintenance Distribution with the Building Capital Distribution at 50%.  Mr. Gorton discussed the fact that maintenance costs for the new County Office Building have gone up and therefore the cost allocation for JFS for using the building has gone up.  He asked that their allocation for maintenance be reduced by 50% in order to make sure that JFS can still provide services.  Mrs. Brakey said that she would like to see a breakdown of the maintenance costs which Mr. Gorton said he would get for her. Mr. Gorton said they could make a decision the next week so no action was taken at this meeting.

• Maintenance Work Session - Facilities - A date was discussed for a work session with the Maintenance Department.  It was decided that it would be held next Thursday, February 26 at 9:00 am.

56:30 Min. Public Comment Observer Note:  Please see the video for complete comments.

Russell Township Resident: “Full disclosure, I'm not running for any office. I don't have any personal animus here, and I have no hidden agenda. I simply think my taxes are too high.”  He then added: “Now, what the state has done has been feeble at best. Their supposed three billion give back. You look at it, it's nothing more than a promise not to do in the future what they've already done. I've looked at some of the analysis and I might get a $100 or less back. That's not going to cut it. Now, regarding the county's budget, I originally came here asking, ‘can you do more with that 15 million surplus that you're projecting to have?’ And I was told, well, you know, not all of our levies can we give back without encountering some loss of state funds, but there was one other levy that you noted might be available. Have you followed up on that? Now, I suggested, hey, how about pay our $100 in the septic fee, which I consider another tax from the county. Have you followed up on whether that's possible? What the taxpayers want is government at all levels to spend less.” He went on to offer several suggestions, one of which was to sell the Patterson Center at the Geauga County Fairgrounds.

Resident from Munson Township: “But it seems like things get passed before discussion happens… seems kind of backwards to me. I don't know if that's right, but it seems like if Ralph (Commissioner Spidalieri) could have spoken before you took your vote on how you want to change these public comments.” Observer Note:  See discussion above regarding limiting public comment to 15 minutes unless extended by the Commissioners.  She went on to suggest that there should be night meetings when the discussion is around hot topics.

A gentleman from South Russell asked: “When's Grace going to come and give us our talk?” Observer Note: Ms. Grace Gallucci is the Executive Director of NOACA. Ms. Bevan said that she had reached out to her but hadn’t heard back.

Steve Oluic addressed the topic of limiting public comment and said: “I think you're treading on thin ice there. I don't think it's appropriate. There's not enough transparency and if Gallucci does come to the meeting, it should be a public meeting. That's if you have the courage to deal with it.”

Mr. Dvorak addressed comments made earlier by Mr. Spidalieri about the dog warden: “I have one clarification on the dog warden saga which was a year ago or so…. The main issue was that someone from the dog warden's office started a rumor that the dog shelter is going to be closed which is impossible because under Ohio Revised Code every county has a dog shelter and it will always be open. And then it just got bigger than that. The real problem was the communication weakness of the communication between the dog warden and the sheriff's office and the prosecutor and sometimes things have to come to a head.”  He concluded, “things are fantastic (with) communication now and between the dog warden and the sheriff and I think you can vouch for that both you guys are sitting next to each other….”

Mr. Dvorak also encouraged people to attend the program being held at Bainbridge Library next week concerning property taxes.  This Observer clarified it was on Wednesday at 6:30 pm. Observer Note:  The Wednesday program is now full, but there will be two additional sessions: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Dr., Chardon, OH, and Tuesday, April 7, 2026 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Middlefield Public Library, 16167 High St., Middlefield, OH. Registration is required.  

1:10 Min. Executive Session - request of Dog Warden at 10:31 am to discuss the employment and compensation of public employees, pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22(G)(1)  The Commissioners were joined by Dog Warden Granito, Ms. Bevan and Mr. Jimison.

1:35:55 Min. Return from Executive Session at 10:58 am with no action.

1:37:51 Min Executive Session - request of Maintenance Department at 10:59 am to discuss the employment and compensation of public employees, pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22(G)(1)  The commissioners were joined by Maintenance Director Weigel, Ms. Bevan and Mr. Jimison.

1:51:12 Min Return from Executive Session at 11:13 with no action.

There was a discussion about adding several positions for posting, but it was determined that the organizational chart had to be updated first, which will be done next week.

1:52:55Min.  Executive Session began at about 11:15 am for the purpose of discussing the employment and compensation of public employees, pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22 (G)(1). 

2:08:34 Min. Return from Executive Session at 11:31 am with action as follows:

The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:

To regrade the Clerk to Commissioners Christine Blair from grade 11 step 7 to grade 13 step 9 at a rate of $36.46 per hour to be effective February 15, 2026.

All the Commissioners thanked Ms. Blair and praised the value of her contributions and knowledge.

2:09:48 Min. Meeting adjourned  at 11:33 am.

Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.

Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next Regular Meeting of the BOCC will be on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. 

Observer: Gail Roussey

Editor: Rooney Moy

Reviewer: Carol Benton

Date Submitted: February 23, 2025

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