Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Board – Regular Monthly Meeting September 21, 2022
The meeting was held in person at the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Service Board Office, 13244 Ravenna Rd. Chardon, OH 44024 at 6 pm. There was no virtual option.
Attendance: Attending in Person: Chair Steve Oluic, Vice Chair Linda Miller, Secretary Alberta Chokshi, Treasurer Michael Petruziello, and board members, Walter Claypool, Marty Fay, Kathy Johnson, Carolee Lesyk, Ryan Mekota, Gregory O’Brien. Not Attending: Ann Bagley, Jimmy Lee Holden, Jennifer Malainey, Mary Ruth Shumway
Staff members attending: Interim Executive Director Leila Vidmar, Associate Director Aimee Martin-D’Arienzo, Finance Director Jim Mausser, Secretary/Receptionist Teresa Slater.
Others attending: representatives of various agencies receiving funding from the GCMHRB, myself and others. About 12-15 total.
Agenda: An Agenda was available. It included: Call to Order, Pledge of Allegiance, Approval of Minutes, Chairman’s Report, Executive Director Report, Committee Reports, Board Review and Action Items, Discussion Items (November Levy and Executive Session), Old and New Business, Public Comments and Adjournment.
Dr. Oluic called the meeting to order. After the Pledge of Allegiance there was a roll call.
New Member: Ryan Mekota Psy.D. was introduced and appointed to the Board. He was sworn in.
Approval of Minutes: from July 20, 2022. Minutes were approved with no changes.
Reviewer Note: as of Sep 29, 2022, approved minutes for June 6, 15, 21 and July 7 and 20 have not been posted to the MH&RS website.
Chairman’s Report: Dr. Oluic stressed the need for the Board to work together and move the mission of the Board forward after some difficult months. There are immediate needs for housing and the levy passage. He commended the staff that has kept services flowing in difficult times.
Executive Director Report: Leila Vidmar, Interim Executive Director, summarized her last two months in her position. She concurred that no services have suffered in the past few months of a challenging time. She described the activities that she has engaged in both internally and externally to learn about the needs and develop a list of priorities both short term and long term. The need for MH services is increasing across the nation. She provided a summary of some of the top issues, including efforts to address the individuals in jail with Mental Health diagnoses, lack of housing, and the Stepping Up Program. She also spoke of the need to pass the levy and gather a committee to work on this issue. The Board needs to complete Board training in the next year.
Associate Director Report: Aimie Martin-D’Arienzo discussed the activities for First Responders Appreciation week and the coordinated recognition provided by the Commissioners, University Hospitals, and other local partners. The GMHR Board is a partnership with Faith-Based Initiative that has over 200 churches participating. And she discussed House Bill 523 which will modernize ORC 340 and has been long awaited by local mental health and recovery boards. She also discussed the upcoming Self-Care for Responders Conference.
Committee Reports: Most committees had not met. The Records committee had completed their annual meeting with no changes. After their report there was conversation about not using personal emails as it makes records retention problematic. Ms. Chokshi will check on this. The Opiate HUB committee highlighted the Self Care for First Responder referenced above. The Housing committee is involved with many partners working on the new youth center. Jobs and Family Services (JFS) and others are taking the lead.
Board Review and Action Items: Ms. Martin-D’Arienzo then led the Board through the list of Resolutions that needed to be acted upon. All had been included in the Board packet as well as summarized in the Associate Director’s Report. Ms. Martin-D’Arienzo explained each item in detail and offered opportunities for questions. All were passed. Some by voice vote, some by Roll Call votes.
Single Audit, Financial Reports and Voucher Recap: Mr. Mausser reported that the MHRB was part of the audit of the whole county. The MHRB had no findings. The Financial Reports were in the Board Packet. No issues presented.
Discussion Items:
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The levy was discussed and strategies to pass it.
Executive Session: the Board then went into Executive Session for the purpose stated as follows: “Executive Session pursuant to ORC 121.22 (G)(1) to Consider the Employment of a Public Employee or Official”
This observer left while the Board was in Executive Session.
Board Minutes Posted: https://www.geauga.org/board-minutes/
Next Meeting Date: October 19, 2022 6 pm
Observer: Kathy Franz
Editor: Betsy Kubbins
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
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