By a Split Vote, Commissioners Approve $750,000 for a Multi Purpose Expo Building
to be Built at the Geauga County Fairgrounds
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - September 3, 2026
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 10:00 am at the Junior Fair Stage, Geauga County Fairgrounds during the 204th Great Geauga County Fair. 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 329 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, Ralph Spidalieri and James Dvorak. Also present were Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair, Finance Manager Adrian Gorton and Deputy County Administrator Mark Jimison in the role of Acting County Administrator. County Administrator Amy Bevan was absent.
County Representatives: Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, Chief Deputy Tom Rowan, Gina Hofstetter, Director, Community and Economic Development; Charles Tkatch, Project Manager, Maintenance
Others in Attendance: Wendy Anderson, Fair Board President; Addison Hoffsteader (Hoppy the Frog), members of the public and press. Observer Note: See the Recognition of Public Officials section below for additional attendees.
10:36 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer (Commissioner Dvorak)
12:50 Min. Public Comment on Agenda Items - There was no comment from the public on agenda items, but the following items occurred:
Recognition of Public Officials - Mr. Dvorak recognized the following Geauga County public officials in attendance: Celesta Mullins, Recorder; Jim Flaiz, Prosecutor; Matthew Granito, Dog Warden; Sheila Bevington, Clerk of Courts; Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP; Jim McCaskey, Munson Township Trustee; Dawn Fleming, Auditor’s Office; River Gale, Representative from the office of Congressman David Joyce; Wendy Anderson, President, Geauga County Fair Board. Also recognized was Vik Sandhu, Candidate, Ohio House of Representatives District 35
Hoppy the Frog - There was a humorous presentation from the fair mascot, “Hoppy the Frog” and “Balloons by Blake.”
18:40 Min Wendy Anderson, Fair Board President, welcomed all to the 204th Great Geauga County Fair.
19:56 Min Mr. Jimison announced that public comment was closed.
20:03 Min Report from Acting County Administrator Mark Jimison - Mr. Jimison approved the following:
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Concurring with Burton Township on not requiring a hearing on the liquor license request from Kaballos Mexican Kitchen and Bar
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Increase in the job posting from one to two positions for Water Resources
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New Hire for Water Resources
Minutes - There were no minutes submitted for approval. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through September 3, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through March 10, 2026.
21.38 Min. Report of Financials - County Finance Manager Adrian Gorton received approval for the following:
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Cash Transfer of $2,500 to the Law Library Resource Fund from the General Fund to cover payroll
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Travel request from Auditor’s Office and the Probate Court
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Vouchers:
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$47,553.17 from ADP for licenses used by law enforcement
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$49,654.80 from Maintenance for county barn roof replacement
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$12,750.00 from the Sheriff's Office for annual subscription for license plate camera readers
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$105,827.24 from Water Resources for Merritt Road sewer line extension project.
Ms. Brakey inquired about the cash transfer to the Law Library. She questioned if this would be an ongoing issue. Mr. Gorton replied that it could be since the fees received by the Law Library for their services have been going down. He stated that they will have to monitor this going forward.
25:25 Min The Sheriff’s Office received approval to execute the Ohio Department of Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) pre-award condition forms for a grant that will be used for the purchase of in-car camera systems in the amount of $25,349.53 (OCJS amount $19,012.15, Local County match $6,337.38) for the period January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.
Ms. Brakey asked for more information about the cameras. Sheriff Hildenbrand replied that they are replacement cameras. He stated that the replacement cameras are more technologically advanced and that they replace the cameras a few at a time as grants become available. The cameras are body cameras as well as microphones.
27:32 Min The Community and Economic Development Department received approval to advertise for bids for the Burton Public Library Elevator Modernization.
Ms. Hofstetter stated that the funds will come from the Community Development Block Grant and from funds that have been raised by the library.
29:57 Min. The Maintenance Department received approval for the following regarding the Safety Center roof replacement:
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Amendment to the Agreement with R.E. Warner and Associates for design services. This is due to a change in the company, which is now I & S Group, Inc.
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Agreement with Warren Roofing and Insulating LLC, Contractor, for the project amount of $3,113,985. The base bid is $2,920,600 and the owners contingency is $193,385.
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Execution of the Notice of Commencement of Public Improvement for Warren Roofing and Insulating LLC
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Execution of the Notice to Proceed for Warren Roofing and Insulating LLC with the work to begin on September 22, 2026
34:26 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #26-134 recognizing the importance of Food, Agriculture and 4-H in Geauga County and Support Ohio Proud.
37.22 Min. Board Discussion -
Levy Suppression - There was a discussion regarding the suppression of the 2015 Children Services Levy to manage the general fund balance. Mr. Gorton noted that suppressing this levy will use up $1.6 million of the available $2.2 million in County funds. He asked the Commissioners for their thoughts on the remaining $600,000. He presented two options. The first option would be to make additional budget cuts to make it possible to suppress another levy. The second option he presented would be to use the money for reserve funds that would then be used for special projects. Mr. Dvorak suggested that they wait until the Budget Commission meeting in September and go from there. Mrs. Brakey stated that she thinks the Commissioners should be in charge of this decision and should be contributing a proposal to the Budget Commission. Observer Note: There was no follow up to Mrs. Brakey’s suggestion.
September 11 Commemoration - Ms. Blair asked the Commissioners for their input on a ceremony that was being held on September 11, 2026 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11. This will take place in front of the old courthouse and involve police and fire departments. She stated that there will be items on the agenda at the next Commissioners meeting on September 10, 2026 relating to this as well. Mr. Dvorak suggested a resolution for 9/11 as it has been done in the past and was very appropriate.
New Multi-Purpose Building for Geauga Fair - Mr. Dvorak made a motion to award the fair board $750,000 to support the construction of a new multi-purpose exposition (expo) building. Mrs. Brakey, although in favor of the expenditure, expressed a desire for a more formal proposal before allocating the funds. Mr. Dvorak stated that the project had been under discussion for years and would serve as a significant benefit to the community. Mrs. Brakey said that it was not on the agenda and she hadn’t been able to study it or talk to anyone about it. She stated “I think sometimes when we make these more emotional decisions while spending taxpayer money, the result is not as good as when we plan for them and have agreements in place.” Motion passed, with Mrs. Brakey voting no.
51:27 Public Comment - Ms. Anderson thanked the Commissioners for the $750,000 that will be used for the multi-purpose expo building at the fairgrounds.
Executive Session - There was no Executive Session
Adjournment at approximately 10:41 am.
Next Meeting: The next Regular meeting will be on Thursday, September 10, 2026 at the Geauga County Office
Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH.
Observer: Mary Heintzelman
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: 9/12/2026
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