Commissioners Agree to Fund Lake-Geauga Recovery House in Chardon
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - July 14, 2026
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at 9:30 am at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, 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 218 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: Shane Hajjar, Deputy Engineer; Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand; Elaine Malkamaki, Program Director, Community and Economic and Development; Christine Lakomiak, Director, Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Board; Tim Kehres, Family First Council Coordinator; Liz Ruvino, Contract Coordinator, Maintenance; Nick Gorris, Director, Water Resources; Rob Weigle, Director, Maintenance Department; Joseph Rice, Communications /Media Specialist
Others in Attendance: Chief Deputy Tom Rowan; Katie Burger, Senior Outreach Coordinator for US Representative David Joyce and intern Carl (last name unknown); Steve Oluic, County Commissioner Candidate and President, GC-Mental Health and Recovery Board; Kathy Johnson, Board Member, GC-Mental Health and Recovery Board; Michelle Bertman, Director, Lake Geauga Recovery Centers; Adam Litke, Lake/Geauga Public Health Commissioner; Geauga Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson, Chagrin Valley Times reporter Anastasia Nicholas; other members of the public and this LWVG Observer.
1:45 Min Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer (Commissioner Dvorak)
2:30 Min Public Comment on Agenda Items - Sheriff Hildenbrand spoke in support of the Lake-Geauga Recovery House in Chardon. He said that “sober” houses have not caused any issues in communities and that they are a crucial resource especially for people when they leave jail. He said that he believed this is exactly the kind of thing that the opiate settlement is meant to be used for. He said that there were six similar houses around the county and they have had “zero problems” with them. He said that these houses are well monitored.
2:50 Min Administrator - Ms. Bevan gave the following report of items that she had approved:
“On July 7th, I approved a cash transfer from the General Fund to the Law Library resources fund in order to continue processing payroll as they were short on cash. Also that same day I approved a cash transfer from the general fund to community development for their third quarter 2026 operational commitment for 2026.
On July 13th for Community Economic Development, I approved and executed the Ohio Department of Development certification of determination of subsequent exemption for a categorical exclusion project in regard to the projects under grant number 25-1A-25 CDBG to include the Burton Library elevator modernization and Chardon Township Park walking path.”
6:30 Minutes - Minutes for February 19, 2026 were approved. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through July 14, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through December 30, 2025.
6:51 Min Report of Financials - County Finance Manager Adrian Gorton received approval for the following:
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Cash transfer from the General Fund to Public Assistance for the July through September 2026 mandated share.
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Incumbrances- Travel from: the Commissioners’ Office to attend the 2026 CCAO (County Commissioners Association of Ohio) summer symposium in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Common Pleas Court to attend the 2026 Ohio Judicial Conference annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, and Job and Family Services to attend the adoptive placement and relocation of a child in custody.
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Contract purchase order from Maintenance to Preston Ford for the purchase of a 2026 Ford F250 replacement 4x4 truck to be used for snowplowing and grounds. The old vehicle will be auctioned.
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Then and Now incumbrance from the Sheriff to Genoa Health Care LLC for inmate pharmacological charges from June that were not previously encumbered.
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Vouchers
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$104,105 from the Commissioners’ Office to Ravenwood Mental Health Center for the third quarter 2026 youth center operations.
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$222,544.60 from the Engineer’s Office to Ronyak Paving Incorporated for pay application number two of the asphalt resurfacing of sections E through F of Mumford Road.
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$255,240.89 from the Engineer’s Office to Geauga Highway Company for pay application number two of the asphalt resurfacing of sections B through C of Messenger Road.
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$66,049.12 from Water Resources to Junction Auto Sales Incorporated for two 2026 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 trucks. These are replacement operations vehicles and the old trucks were traded in.
9:00 Min The Department of Community and Economic Development received approval to electronically execute and submit the PY2025 Community Development Program, State of Ohio, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Grant Agreement (Grant #25NR-1AZ-25CDBG) for the period September 1, 2025 through October 31, 2027 in the amount of $278,000.00.
Mrs. Brakey asked about the projects. Ms. Malkamaki said that the Burton Library elevator project is for the upgrade of their current elevator which has been breaking down. She said that there is a 6-8 month wait for parts, but they will have this completed by October, 2027 when the grant period is completed.
Ms. Malkamaki said that the Chardon Township Park will give ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) access to the entire Park, including a path to a fishing location and playing fields. Chardon has their bid specifications nearly ready to go. Once they have a bid, they do the contracts.
There was a discussion of comments by the Prosecutor’s Office to the effect that the State is passing on indemnity to the county, which although known, was not mentioned by any Commissioners as a reason to vote no, and the approval was unanimous.
Mrs. Brakey also asked who is responsible for paying any amounts over the grant. Ms. Malkamaki said that in the next phase, the contract phase, this will be spelled out, but that both have agreed in principle and know that they will have to pay over and above the grant amount. She said that they know that the grant won’t cover all the costs.
Mrs. Brakey also asked about the Local Fair Housing Coordinator, and Ms. Malkamaki said she was the Coordinator. Ms. Malkamaki said that she is on the Committee and they meet four times a year. They plan outreach programs and have two planned at the Chardon Senior Center and maybe at one of the libraries, such as the Middlefield Library.
14:40 Min The Department of Job and Family Services received approval to execute the Geauga County Family First Council Mutual Funding Agreement between the Board of Commissioners, Job and Family Services, Board of Developmental Disabilities, and Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services for funding of the Geauga County Family First Council for the period July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. This Agreement commits the Board of County Commissioners to providing a support payment of $42,484.00 from the General Fund.
This discussion was led by Tim Kehres, Family First Coordinator, and Christine Lakomiak, Director, Mental Health and Recovery Services. Mr. Kehrs said that Family First Council is a quasi-governmental agency that provides support for children and families when multiple agencies are involved. He said that they have assisted in cases where the family has private insurance but it does not cover stays at the Geauga Youth Center (cost of $300/day) or Bellfaire (cost of over $950/day).
Ms. Lakomiak praised Mr. Kehrs for his work on the Family First Council. She said he is very responsible with the tax dollars but always makes sure that families feel supported.
17:47 Min The Maintenance Department received approval to execute the service Contract Agreement with B & L Acquisition Group LLC DBA COIT Cleaning and Restoration Services to perform cleaning services in Geauga County Buildings and Geauga County Safety Center per the Director, effective for a two-year period, July 1, 2026 through July 1, 2028 in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00 ($40,000.00 for County Buildings, $10,000.00 for Safety Center).
Mrs. Brakey asked if any of the carpet should be replaced rather than cleaned. Ms. Ruvino said that all the carpet she reviewed was in good condition and should be cleaned rather than replaced, especially noting that a lot was for the newly renovated courthouse and the new county office building.
19:27 Min The Department of Water Resources received approval for the following:
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to execute the Ohio Water Development Authority Fund Payment Request #15 (Loan #11217) for the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project for technical services by HDR Engineering, Incorporated in the amount of $33,904.44.
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to execute the Ohio Water Development Authority Fund Payment Request #16 (Loan #11217) for the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project for technical services by HDR Engineering, Incorporated in the amount of $36,398.36.
Mr. Gorris said that payments will be reduced going forward as this part of the work is wrapping up. He also said that the roof on the new area is being put on next week.
21:24 Min Board Discussion
Discussion with Mental Health and Recovery Services Executive Director Christine Lakomiak regarding options for the Opioid Settlement Funds
Ms. Lakomiak said that there was an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) prepared by the Prosecutor’s Office regarding the Opiate funds and under the MOU the County agreed to expend $100,000 a year on covered programs. The Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board generated an RFP (Request for Proposals) and this was sent out by them to agencies and departments that could utilize the Opiate funds. For the first round, the RFP went out in January, with a deadline of February 27 to apply. Ms. Lakomiak forwarded to the Commissioners a rubric with suggested awards and awards were made at the April 7, 2026 BOCC meeting. She asked the Commissioners for clarification as to whether this cycle was complete since there was $23,000 left.
Mr. Dvorak asked if the funds allocated to the Sheriff’s department for a Mass Spectrometer occurred before the MOU. Ms. Blair verified that this $85,000 amount had been awarded prior to the discussion of the $100,000. Mrs. Brakey said that it was purchased this year.
Mrs. Brakey asked how much money was in the Opiate Fund.
Mr. Gorton said there was $650,000-$700,000.
Mr. Dvorak said he thought there would be $40-$50,000 more coming from another settlement.
Mr. Dvorak said he was in favor of fulfilling the request from Lake Geauga Recovery Services for $50,000 for a Recovery House in Chardon.
Mrs. Brakey said that she received emails from neighbors that they were not in favor of it being across from St. Mary’s school. She said that her position had not changed and she hadn’t had a chance to reach out to those who expressed their concerns.
Ms. Lakomiak said that the recovery home is open and that there had been communication with the community which seemed to have addressed concerns. She also said Michelle Bertman from Lake-Geauga Recovery was present at the meeting if there were questions she could address.
Ms. Lakomiak asked for clarification as to whether the approval was for the whole $50,000 or only the $23,000 that was remaining.
Ms. Blair clarified the resolution that any amount above the $23,000 would need to be appropriated by the Commissioners.
This resolution to award the grant to the Lake-Geauga for a Recovery House passed 2-1, with Mrs. Brakey voting no. Language of the resolution would fulfil the entire $50,000 request from Lake-Geauga, but is subject to Commissioners appropriating the additional $27,000.
Ms. Lakomiak gave an update on some of the grants that were awarded. She said, “the Red Tulip you had approved $25,000. They did purchase a van with some of that funding and also they were hiring a new peer support part-time worker. In their RFP, they had thought they would be able to anticipate 200 transports during the funding period. In the last three months, they have already exceeded that at 271 rides. So this is definitely a gap in the community where they're able to provide transportation to individuals living in recovery houses to different programs - AA meetings, to the drug court, to work. So this is, you know, very unique. This is not something that existed prior to the funding and your approval. And so I want to highlight that already in three months, it has been pretty successful. Secondly, there was funding awarded to the Fairmount Center for Arts for $22,000.” She said that this program was to support first responders and their caregivers through an arts program. The first program will be for individuals from University Hospital Geauga, the Sheriff's Office, the LOSS Team and the Chardon Fire Department.
She said there was another grant to Chardon Municipal Court for $30,000, and they have entered into a contract with Family Pride. The grant was to identify gaps in services. Observer Note: See more information in the LWVGeauga Observer Report for April 7, 2026 here. She said they are working on getting started on this, but noted the difficulty of not making awards until April.
There was a question about when RFPs should go out and be awarded - calendar year or State Budget Year (July 1-June 30). Mr. Dvorak advocated for a calendar year. The discussion went back and forth, but it appeared to be settled that the RFPs would go out in October and the Commissioners would make decisions in December so that grant awardees could get started soon after the new year.
Ms. Bevan said that in future years the Commissioners might want to focus on equipment, whereas this year’s awards were all programmatic.
Mrs. Brakey said she had no preference for equipment over programming.
Another discussion point was whether all money would be distributed via the RFP process, or if there could be a submission outside that process that could be considered. No decision was made on that point.
Ms Bevan said that they would also need to clarify if they want language that there can be no expectation that there will be continued funding other than the grant awarded.
Levi Lane Media Coverage
Ms. Bevan said that the Levi family wanted to know if the Commissioners would be interested in a ribbon cutting for the newly named Levi Lane.
Mr. Spidalieri said he was not in favor of further meetings. He said, “If somebody wants to go to a ribbon cutting then, go do the ribbon cutting. Let's stop using the death of a child for, you know, political exposure. This has got to stop and we need to just stay the course on what we're doing in this county and respect the rest of the people that have lost children, military families that have lost soldiers killed in action, in the line of duty that don't have a name (on a road).”
It was concluded that any ribbon cutting would be a low-key event, with Mr. Dvorak and Mrs. Brakey attending if they wished to do so.
1:28:02 Min. Public Comment
At the beginning of public comment, Commissioner Dvorak reiterated the public comment policy, saying it is “not a question and answer.”
A man from South Russell Village discussed Liberty Camp USA. He said it was started 12 years ago and now is also in Lake County. He urged the public to attend the closing ceremony on Monday July 20 at Camp Chickagami. He also spoke about NOACA (Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency). He wanted to know if the Commissioners had heard from NOACA.
Executive Session - The Commissioners’ Office received approval at 10:44 am to move into Executive Session for the purpose of considering the sale of property at competitive bidding, or the sale or other disposition of unneeded, obsolete, or unfit-for-use property, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest, pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22 (G)(2). Commissioners were joined by Ms. Bevan, Mr. Jimison and Mr. Weigle.
Return from Executive Session - at 10:55 am. No action was taken.
1:31:34 Min. Adjournment at approximately 10:56 am
Next Meeting: The next Regular meeting will be Tuesday, July 21, 2026 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: July 17,2026
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