Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners met at 9:30 AM on April 4, 2023 at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. BOCC meetings are in-person only and there are no recordings for the public. An agenda is available in advance via request to the Commissioners Clerk.
Public Comment Policy: BOCC does not have a formal policy. In practice, comment may be permitted at the end of the meeting at the prerogative of the current BOCC President, Mr. Spidalieri. Mr. Spidalieri announced in January that he would not permit public comment but occasionally has permitted some members of the public to address BOCC.
Attendance: Commissioners James Dvorak, Timothy Lennon, and Ralph Spidalieri were all present. Also present were Commissioner’s Clerk Christine Blair, Finance Director Adrian Gorton and County Administrator Gerard Morgan.
County Representatives: Shane Hajir, Engineer’s Department; Jessica Boalt, Office on Aging; Linda Burhenne, Temporary Archives Director; Kathleen Miller, Water Resources; Elaine Malkamaki, and Gina Hofstetter, Department of Community and Economic Development (CED). In the public, Adam Litke, Administrator and Carolyn Brakey, Board President, Geauga Public Health District.
Minutes - BOCC approved meetings from February 7 and 14, 2023. Reviewer Note: As of April 6, 2023, approved minutes are available on the BOCC website through January 31, 2023.
Administrator report - Mr. Morgan - He approved the following:
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Resignation in Maintenance, Hiring a Full Time Design engineer in Water Resources.
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Agreement with Montville Twp Trustees not to request a hearing for a Liquor License for Pioneer Waterland.
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Approved cash transfer to the Sheriff’s Office for miscellaneous refunds, reimbursements.
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Approved Supplemental from Water Resources to move the remaining seed money for Chardon Wastewater Project.
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Transfer from the General Fund to the Sheriff's Law Enforcement Block Grant Fund.
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Then and Now for payment to Ibold and O’Brien for representing indigent defendants. (Observer Note: A Then and Now is for approval of a payment that has already been paid)
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Travel for Probate Court Conference.
Vouchers:
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$109,839.46 from ADP to Tyler Technology INC for 2023 licensing (last year $181,751)
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$44,278.40 from the Auditor’s to Junction Auto for a 2023 Dodge Ram Van (replacement) to be used by weights and measures
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$1,030,542 from the Commissioners to Donley’s Independence for payment #27 for the new County Office Building
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$31,999 from JFS to Junction Buick GMC for a new 2023 GMC Terrain - Replacement
Financials - Mr. Gorton reported on the following:
Approval of Travel for the following: Commissioners, Common Pleas, Emergency Services, Engineers Office, Job and Family Services and Juvenile court for various conferences.
Vouchers, including:
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$104,105 from the Commissioners Office to Ravenwood for the quarterly payments for the Youth Center operations.
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$49,320 from the Engineer’s office for materials for crack sealant and repairs on roadways.
Executive Session: BOCC went into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing pending litigation. They were joined by attorney Stephen Funk, legal counsel representing BOCC in their complaint against the ADP (Automatic Data Processing) Board. The Executive Session ended at 10:24 AM and no action was announced.
Reviewer Comment: The following day, Mr. Funk filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal for case 22M000541. The original complaint was filed on Sep 13, 2022 by the BOCC against Charles E. Walder, Allen Keener and Frank Antenucci in their official capacities with ADP. It is unclear when the Commissioners instructed their attorney to dismiss the legal action.
Public Hearing - Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Small Cities Programs: This is the first of two required hearings and was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. but began at 10:24 a.m.. As explained by Ms. Malkamaki, and Ms. Hofstetter of the Department of Community and Economic Development (CED), funds are to be used for either targeting low to moderate income persons or for the elimination of blight. Categories of use include Neighborhood revitalization, Critical infrastructure, residential public infrastructure and economic development. Can include demolition of blighted properties, building rehab, historic preservation, and public service. Key details:
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There is $284,000 available for grants, which is the same as 2021.
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Deadline to apply is April 21st. People have already applied.
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On April 5th there will be a meeting to explain the process for applying.
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There will be a second hearing late in May.
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At a Fair Housing coalition program on March 23, there were 13 agencies in attendance to hear about the grant opportunities.
The Block Grant application process was then approved by the Commissioners.
Mr. Lennon stated that “Because this is a public hearing, is there anyone in the public who would like to comment?” There were no questions or comments.
The Department of Community and Economic Development, in an effort to use all allocated grant funds, received approval to execute a Letter to the Ohio Development Services Agency, Office of Community Development requesting to Amend CDBG Allocation Grant #B-F-21-1AZ-1 to:
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decrease Project #2 – Department on Aging Paratransit Van from $71,500.00 to $66,000.00
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decrease Project #5 – Camp Ho Mita Koda Cabin Winterization from $65,500.0 to $58,800.00
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increase Project #1 - Womensafe Paving Project from $35,100.00 to $41,200.00
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increase Project #3 – DDC Clinic Generator from $55,100.00 to $61,200.00
County Engineer’s Office received approval for the following:
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To execute the Unit Price Contract with Woodford Excavating, LLC for the Replacement of the Washington Street Bridge (Structure BR-0606-F-05.310-2023) in Auburn Township in the amount of $312,416.00.
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To award the Bid to Karvo Companies, Incorporated for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Fairmount Road (CH-0016, Sections A-B) in Russell Township in the amount of $614,593.00 as they represented the lowest and best bid. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project.
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To award the Bid to Ronyak Paving, Incorporated for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Clay Street (CH-0037, Sections C-D) in Huntsburg Township in the amount of $431,600.00 as they represented the lowest and best bid and Clay Street (CH-0037, Sections K-L) in Thompson Township in the amount of $740,605.00 as they represented the lowest and best bid. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for both projects.
The Department on Aging received approval for termination of a Part-time Recreation and Education Assistant (#1005-1), for probationary failure to be effective April 3, 2023.
The Archives and Records Center received approval for the following:
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for the promotion of Ashley Serraglio to the position of Senior Archives and Records Clerk to be effective April 3, 2023 at the rate of $15.57 per hour with a 180-day probationary period. Ms. Serraglio was reported to already be doing the work of this position.. Because Ms. Serraglio will graduate soon, Ms. Berhenne asked for permission also to advertise for a second clerk, which was granted. This position will remain posted until filled.
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to execute the Go Green Community Grant Agreement between the Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District and Geauga County for an approved recycling program to be implemented by December 31, 2023 for reimbursement in an amount not to exceed $3,200.00. This grant is for shredding that has been carried out this week.
The Transit Department received approval for an unpaid medical leave of absence for a Full-time Transit Driver (#2210) for up to 175 hours, not covered by accrued sick and vacation leave beginning April 4, 2023 (Payroll #8) through May 8, 2023 (Payroll #10).
The Department of Water Resources received approval for the following:
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to execute the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund, Final Exhibit 1 for the Chardon Township Sewer Project, to formally close the loan.
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To execute the Lease between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Pilgrim Lake Colony in Bainbridge Township for a five-year period, October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2027 in the amount of $200.00 per year from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023, $250 per year October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2025 and $275.00 per year October 1 2025 through September 30, 2027.
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To rescind the motion from November 8, 2022 for Resolution #22-182 that Approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 Expenditure – Water Resources McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) Permit and Permit to Install Expenses in the amount of $15,300.00 as the fees are being covered by Department funds instead.
Ms. Miller explained that due to deadlines of Water Resources and the ARPA funds not being available, they used Department funds instead.
The Commissioners approved the following:
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a paid administrative leave request for a Maintenance Worker for the period March 23, 2023 through March 29, 2023.
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To execute Resolution #23-049 Proclaiming May 7, 2023 – May 13, 2023 as Public Service Recognition Week for 2023.
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to execute the Great Geauga County Fair Contract for 2023 for the period August 31, 2023 through September 4, 2023.
Executive Session #2 Commissioners entered into another Executive session - this one was for the purpose of discussing the compensation of public employees.
As the Commissioners were exiting into Executive Session, Adam Litke, Administrator of Geauga Public Health District, approached and greeted the Commissioners. Mr. Lennon then came out into the public and greeted Carolyn Brakey, Board President of Geauga Public Health District. He could be heard thanking her and then the two exchanged business cards.
Public Comment - none permitted at this meeting.
Observer Note: At this point there were no remaining agenda items and no indication that action would be taken following the Executive Session. This Observer left the meeting room at 10:44 am.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available on BOCC website
Next Meeting: Tuesday April 11, 2023 at 9:30 am
Observer: Gail Roussey
Reviewers: Anne Ondrey and Shelly Lewis
Date Submitted: 4/5/2023
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