Board of County Commissioners - July 25, 2023
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met at 9:30 AM on July 25, 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: Observer Comment: Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri announced at the end of the April 4, 2023 meeting that public comment would be permitted and that a more formal policy would be forthcoming. There was no formal policy introduced today.
Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a prayer was offered by Mr. Dvorak.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners James Dvorak and Ralph Spidalieri; Commissioner Timothy Lennon was absent. Also present were Commissioners' Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Gerard Morgan, and Senior Financial Specialist Deborah Ashburn for Finance Manager Adrian Gorton, who was absent.
County Representatives: Shane Hajjar, Engineer’s Department; Glen Vernick, Director Maintenance; Sheriff Hildenbrand and Chief Deputy Thomas Rowan; Kelly Bidlack, BOCC Human Resources Specialist and Paul Harris, Secretary of the Geauga Fair Board.
Others in Attendance: Adam Litke, Geauga Public Health Administrator, Carolyn Brakey, Geauga Public Health Board President; Linda Burhenne, Assistant County Administrator; Ron Leyde, Deputy Auditor, Chris Alusheff, President, Health District Advisory Council and Claridon Township Zoning Inspector; Walter (Skip) Claypool, Geauga Planning Commission member, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter, Tom and Diane Jones and several other members of the public.
Minutes: No minutes were presented for approval at this meeting. At publication, minutes were posted on the BOCC website through June 1, 2023. Reviewer Comment: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for BOCC are available online through July 18, 2023 for information purposes but are not substitutes for approved BOCC Minutes.
Observer Note: At the July 11, 2023 meeting, it was noted that the public had difficulty hearing the discussions between Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Blair and the Commissioners. Microphones were present on the dais for this meeting but did not appear to work.
County Administrator Report: Mr. Morgan reported on the following action taken by him pursuant to authority granted to him by the Commissioners:
Financial Report: Ms. Ashburn presented the Financial Report, which was approved and included the following:
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Appropriation from Contingency to Maintenance for electric service increase
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Supplemental to Metzenbaum to replace the playground (no details listed)
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Travel requests for Court of Common Pleas, one for Common Pleas Drug Court and one from the Engineer’s office
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Vouchers: $51,909.92 from the Commissioners to the OSU Extension for 3rd quarter payment
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$17,999 from Water Resources to O’Reilly Equipment for a trailer
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Revenue Certificate for Mental Health to certify drug court allocation from the State
The Airport Authority received approval to advertise for Bids for the Geauga County Airport Hangar 1 Improvements. Bid received on Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. Notice of this Bid Opening will be advertised on July 27, 2023, August 3, 2023 and on the County website.
The Sheriff’s Office received approval for the following:
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To execute the Motorola Solutions Service Agreement Quote for VESTA Mission Control Support, Managed Services, Onsite-STD, Software Firmware Support and 9-1-1 Dispatch Service for the period October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028 in the amount of $306,342.02.
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It was noted that this will upgrade the pre-arrival instructions and provide on-screen prompts for 911 calls.
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Declaring County Property as Surplus and Directing its Sale to Morgan County, Ohio, as authorized by O.R.C. 307.12 for a 2014 Ford Explorer Police Utility Interceptor (Vin # ending 1081) in the amount of $6,000.00, a 2017 Ford Explorer Police Utility Interceptor (Vin # ending 4208) in the amount of $7,000.00, a 2017 Ford Explorer Police Utility Interceptor (Vin # ending 4209) in the amount of $7,500.00 and a 2017 Ford Explorer Police Utility Interceptor (Vin # ending 3140) in the amount of $7,500.00.
The Maintenance Department received approval to advertise for Bids for Seal and Stripe of Geauga County Parking Lots. These Bid Openings will be held on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 with Group #1 at 2:10 p.m. and Group #2 at 2:15 p.m. Notice of these Bid Openings will be advertised on August 10, 2023, August 17, 2023 and on the county website. Mr. Vernick stated that they are hiring a bid contract specialist because, due to rising prices, many contracts are now over the $50,000 limit and require a bid.
The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:
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To execute the Agreement with Vivina LLC d.b.a. Delish Mobile Kitchen to provide parking lot service with their catering food truck for sale of food and beverage to the public at the Geauga County Offices Building located at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon, Ohio through the Year 2023.
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To execute the Agreement with Barrio Bros, LLC to provide catering services for an employee wellness luncheon located at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon, in the amount of $2,921.00. This event is to celebrate the one year anniversary of moving into the new county building and will be covered by the Wellness Grant.
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To execute Contract Maintenance Form #7 with NV5 (the owner’s representative for the Commissioners on the new county building construction) to extend the date of completion from June 30, 2023, for an additional 215 days through January 31, 2024 and increase the amount of contract for additional post occupancy change management in the amount of $107,280.00.
Mr. Spidalieri asked for some specifics regarding the punch list and what was causing this change. Mr. Morgan said it was due to the Board of Elections (BOE) changes and remaining punch list items. Reviewer Note: it is unclear what the remaining punch list items are but changes to the Board of Elections office space are specified in the May 8, 2023 Settlement Agreement between the BOCC and the BOE.
Mr. Spidalieri also asked whether Donely’s Independence should assume some of these costs due to them not getting things done in a timely fashion. Mr. Morgan said they have been trying to get in touch with Donley’s Independence, but that Donley’s wasn’t focused on getting these things done.
Mr. Spidalieri suggested holding back money until they complete work on the punchlist. He asked if there was a timeframe on the punch list and Mr. Morgan said there was. Mr. Morgan said that they have retainage held back until everything is complete.
Observer Note: The following payments and actions regarding Donley’s Independence have been approved since June:
On June 1, 2023, the BOCC approved $571,047.55 from the Commissioners to Donley’s Independence for pay request #28 for the New County Office Building. Mr. Gorton stated that there was $425,000 left on this contract.
On June 27th, the BOCC approved the Certificate of Substantial Completion with Donley’s Independence, LLC, for Phase #1 and Phase #2 of the Geauga County Office Building through May 27, 2022. and for Change Order #19, increasing the Contract with Donley’s Independence, LLC, for changes to the Board of Elections area of the County Office Building not covered in the original contract in the amount of $120,856.00.
On July 18th the BOCC approved partial payment # 29 in the amount of $114,605.90 for the Geauga County office building.
Unpaid Leave - The Commissioners’ Office received approval to place Mike Kurzinger on Unpaid Administrative Leave, effective 12:00 p.m. (Noon) July 20, 2023, pursuant to O.R.C. 124.388 (B). Mr. Dvorak asked if this would be for 60 days. Morgan said that this would be for 60 days and if the criminal matter was not resolved at that point, he would go back to paid leave but the goal was to get through the disciplinary process. Mr. Dvorak asked if they would be able to terminate him if he is found guilty or confessed to the charges. Mr. Morgan said he thought so and would look into it.
The Geauga County Agricultural Society Fair Board secretary Paul Harris gave the annual update on the Fair and Fairgrounds. He said that the Fair is 36 days away and that applications need to be submitted by August 9th. Fair Books are downstairs in the lobby. He also discussed the following:
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Demolition Derby will be 2 nights
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They had a presale that was very successful and internet sales continue.
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The Natural Resource Area is back to 100% and is one of a kind in the state
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Upgrades have been made to the small grandstand, First Aid, new LED lighting. The Auxiliary upgraded the fountain.
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There has been some vandalism (which has increased since the school opened north of the Fairgrounds.) Mr. Dvorak asked about cameras and Mr. Harris said they were looking into getting better cameras.
One bigger item under discussion is a Multipurpose Building (25,000 square feet) The Fair Board is talking to a company that does this kind of work. He said they now estimate $4 million for the project.
Mr. Harris thanked Mr. Morgan for his help with a problem (to the North). This was clarified at public comment to be an issue with Berkshire School regarding drainage. Observer Note: It does not appear that this issue has been resolved.
Public Comment
This Observer asked a question about the Fair (included above) and the status of work with Donley’s Independence, and to clarify that in talking about “Independence” Mr. Morgan was referring to Donley’s Independence. The information is listed above.
Walter (Skip) Claypool made a statement regarding the “professional decorum” of a certain Commissioner (unnamed) regarding comments in the Maple Leaf. He stated that he didn’t feel that Commissioners should have made any statements alluding to guilt regarding certain individuals. He asked that Commissioners not make any such statements. During their May 9, 2023 meeting, BOCC placed Mike Kurzinger on paid leave “until further notice” following a May 3, 2023 law enforcement raid at the Department of Water Resources. Kurzinger was indicted the morning of the July 18 BOCC meeting. At the conclusion of that meeting, members of the press approached all Commissioners and Mr. Morgan for statements. See statements by public officials in Cleveland.com, the Geauga Maple Leaf and the Chagrin Valley Times.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at about 10:10 am
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available here
Next Meeting: Tuesday August 1, 2023 at 9:30 am
Observers: Gail Roussey
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
Date Submitted: 7/26/2023
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