County Commissioners Among Many Local Dignitaries
at the Ribbon Cutting for the Renovated Courthouse
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - April 7, 2026
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 10:00 am for a Regular Meeting. The location and time were changed from the normal 9:30 am meeting at the Geauga County Office Building, to Judge Paschke’s Courtroom in the renovated Court House on Chardon Square in Chardon, OH. BOCC 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 264 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 and February 24, 2026.
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: Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand; Chief Deputy Sheriff Thomas Rowan; Christine Lakomioak, Director, Geauga Mental Health and Recovery Services; Chuck Tkach, Program Manager, Maintenance; Max Yost, County Communications/Media Specialist.
Others in Attendance: Judge Caroyn Paschke, Judge Matthew Rambo, City of Chardon Manager Ben Young, Chardon Mayor Christopher Grau, High School students from Chardon High School, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson, Chagrin Valley Times reporter Anastasia Nicholas, other members of the public and press, representatives from county departments and this Observer.
10:24 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer (Commissioner Dvorak)
Public Comment on Agenda Items - No comments from the public.
Minutes - No Minutes were submitted for approval. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through April 7, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through November 25, 2025.
12:15 Min. Report of Administrator Amy Bevan:
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Approved an unpaid Leave of Absence for the Department on Aging for an information and referral assistant
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Approved an unpaid leave of absence in Maintenance for a Maintenance Coordinator
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Approved a promotion to full-time assistant transportation coordinator
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For the Dog Warden, approved hiring a part time shelter attendant and rescinded a formerly approved hiring of a shelter attendant
14:06 Min. Financial Report - Mr. Gorton received approval for the following:
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Cash transfer from the general fund to public assistance for the April through June 2026 mandated share
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Transfer from the Commissioners to the computer equipment improvements fund for the budgeted 2026 expenses
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Incumbrances for travel from the Common Pleas Court for the 2026 court technology conference and the Ohio Chief Probation Officers Association April meeting, both in Lewis Center Ohio; and for the Engineer’s Office
Vouchers
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$104,105 from the Commissioners’ Office to Ravenwood Mental Health Center for the second quarter 2026 youth center commitment
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$567,527.50 from the Commissioners’ Office to Infinity Construction Company for pay requests number 31 and 32 of the courthouse expansion project.
15:24 Min The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the 2027 Tax Budget Hearing Schedule, with hearings scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 5, 2026, May 12, 2026, May 19, 2026, and on Thursday, May 28, 2026. Mrs. Brakey pointed out that May 5th is Election Day and one of the Commissioners is on the ballot. Mr. Dvorak said that he was on the ballot but felt he could still attend. He said that if something came up, they only would need two commissioners at the Budget hearing.
16:46 Min The Sheriff’s Office received approval to execute the 3rd Amendment to Agreement by and between the Ashtabula County Commissioners and the Geauga County Commissioners to keep, board and maintain prisoners from Ashtabula County in the Geauga County Safety Center for the period April 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $230,000.00, including reasonable and necessary medical and mental health expenses, with all other terms and conditions of the original agreement remaining in full force and effect. Sheriff Hildenbrand said that Ashtabula is building a new jail. They have purchased a few properties but they haven’t broken ground yet. Observer Note: Sheriff Hildenbrand confirmed with this Observer that the funds will be paid to Geauga County.
18:22 Min The Maintenance Department received approval to advertise for Bids for the Geauga County Courthouse Annex Masonry Restoration and Roof Replacement Project to be held on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 2:00 pm. Notice of this Bid Opening will be advertised on April 10, 2026, April 17, 2026, and on the county website.
19:20 Min The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:
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For the Board to review, discuss and award if appropriate Opioid Settlement Grant Cycle 1 funds, up to $100,000.00, per the Memorandum of Understanding with Mental Health and Recovery Services. Christine Lakomiak said that they received six proposals for these Grant funds and the staff used a metric, which was shared with the Commissioners. This led them to recommend the following four programs:
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Red Tulip Project for transportation services to help with peer support and to help individuals getting to treatments
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Chardon Municipal Court Liaison to identify gaps in services
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Fairmount Center for support of first responders
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Lake Geauga Recovery Center for a recovery house. She noted they received $300,000 from the One Ohio Foundation, but $50,000 additional is required. Mr. Dvorak said that he found out that Lake County has five recovery houses, but Geauga only has only two.
Mrs. Brakey noted that the location is across from a Church and a school. She wondered if the community knew of the proposed use and if the community would welcome the recovery house. Ms. Lakomiak said that the property was purchased from St. Mary’s.
Mrs. Brakey made a motion to approve the first three, which was seconded by Mr Spidalieri. Mr. Dvorak spoke in favor of the $50,000 for Lake Geauga Recovery. Mrs. Brakey said she just wanted more information and would be happy to vote on it at a subsequent meeting. Mrs. Brakey and Mr. Spidalieri voted to approve the awards to the first three projects and Mr. Dvorak abstained.
Observer Note: After the meeting this Observer asked Chardon City Manager Ben Young if the city had notice of the proposed use of the property and he said that they had not.
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To execute Resolution #26-049 Third Amendment, Approving the Use of County Credit Cards for Year 2026 for Agencies and Cardholders to include the Removal and Addition of Users for the County Engineer’s Office and the Department of Job and Family Services, pursuant to O.R.C. 301.27.
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To authorize the President of the Board to execute the Applications for Authorization for the use of County Credit Cards forms for the Year 2026, per O.R.C. 301.27 for the County Engineer’s Office and Department of Job and Family Services.
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To execute the Certification Request to County Auditor, Request to Board of Commissioners Quarterly Use of County Credit Cards, pursuant to O.R.C. 301.27 for the Year 2026 (Quarters 1 and 2) for the Department of Job and Family Services to increase the Geauga Credit Union Visa amount for advertising per quarter.
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To waive the 200-hour vacation accrual maximum for Matt Granito, Dog Warden beginning April 12, 2026 (Payroll #26-09) through October 24, 2026 (Payroll #26-22). Ms. Bevan and Mrs. Brakey noted that Mr. Granito is short-staffed.
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To schedule a Work Session on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Ms Bevan said that one thing that would be discussed is what options remain for the property owned by the Commissioners at 470 Center St. She said they also wanted to talk about the future tenancy for the old Court House areas and what renovations would be required. Mrs. Brakey asked if the meeting could be held at 9:00 am since she and Mr. Dvorak have a NOACA meeting that day. That was approved.
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To execute Resolution #26-050 Recognizing April 2026 as National County Government Month.
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To execute Resolution #26-051 Celebrating the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the Geauga County Courthouse Expansion. A photo was taken with the Commissioners and Judge Paschke and Judge Rambo.
35:26 Min Board Discussion – “On the Road” concept for future Commissioners’ meetings. Ms. Bevan and Mr. Yost discussed the idea of having Commissioners’ meetings at different corners of the County. He said they were thinking of holding one in Parkman or Troy and in other parts of the County. He said they hoped to do this quarterly and there were a few possible dates being considered - June 11th and October 22nd - both Thursdays. The time would be 10:00 am, a little later than regular meetings.
Mrs. Brakey had a comment that if it was going to be in the morning, that it would be harder for Township Trustees and others to attend, while recognizing that an evening meeting would be harder for staff. The other question Mrs. Brakey raised was whether there would be a livestream available.
Ms. Bevan said that they would continue to refine the concept.
Public Comment - No public comments.
Meeting recessed at 10:30 am
Ribbon Cutting began at 11:30 am and was held at the West Side Main Entrance of the Courthouse. The ceremonies started with remarks from the construction and design companies TDA Architects and Infinity Construction. Participants in the ribbon cutting included Judge Paschke, Judge Rambo, retired Judge David Ondrey, Prosecutor Flaiz, Clerk of Courts Sheila Bevington, Commissioners Brakey, Dvorak and Spidalieri, Sheriff Hildenbrand, Chardon Police Chief Scott Niehus, Infinity Construction project manager Brett Bestgen, project superintendent Joseph Daugherty and Brad Gellert, ThenDesign Architecture (TDA).
The Chardon High School Band provided musical accompaniment. Mr. Dvorak led with a prayer.
Among others in attendance were Congressional Representative Dave Joyce and 11th District Court of Appeas Judge Matt Lynch. Observer Note: A photo of the event can be found on Facebook here. News Channel 5 was in attendance and posted this report.
Observer Note: Following the Ribbon Cutting, everyone was invited to proceed to the Heritage House on Chardon Square, where the ceremony and presentations were held. A Public Open House was held from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm for those wishing to walk through the new Courthouse Expansion.
Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.
Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next Regular Meeting of the BOCC will be on Tuesday, April 14, at 9:30 am at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: April 13, 2026
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