Board of County Commissioners - August 8, 2023
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met at 9:30 AM on August 8, 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. 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. There were no working microphones at this meeting.
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 and no public comment was invited by Mr. Spidalieri.
Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a prayer was offered by Mr. Dvorak.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners James Dvorak, Ralph Spidalierin and Timothy Lennon. Also present were Commissioners' Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Gerard Morgan, and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.
County Representatives: Shane Hajjar, Engineer’s Department; Sheriff Hildenbrand and Chief Deputy Tom Rowan, Glen Vernick, Maintenance Department.
Others in Attendance: Carolyn Brakey, Board President Geauga Public Health Dept; Linda Burhenne, Asst. County Administrator, Nick Gorris, Interim Director Water Resources, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter, Tom and Diane Jones and several other members of the public.
Minutes: There were no minutes submitted for approval.. 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 August 1, 2023 for information purposes but are not substitutes for approved BOCC Minutes.
County Administrator Report: Mr. Morgan reported on the following action taken by him pursuant to authority granted to him by the Commissioners:
Financial Report: Mr. Gorton presented the Financial Report, which was approved and included the following:
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Travel Requests;
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Engineers Office
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Probate Court
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Vouchers:
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From Commissioners Office to Then Design Architects in the amount of $210,155.38 for Phase 2 Project (presumably this is the courthouse project but not stated and there was no public comment).
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From the Engineers Office to Ronyak Paving in the amount $1,545,202.71 for asphalt resurfacing of Messenger, Morgan, Leggett and Clay Roads.
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From the Engineers Office to Karvo Paving Co. in the amount of $508,483.18 for asphalt Resurfacing of Old State and Farmington Roads.
Revenue Certification from Board of Elections for funds for the special election.
County Engineers Office received approval for the following engineer’s work to prepare for the following road reconstruct or improvements:
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Auburn Road.in Munson and Newbury Townships
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Auburn Road in Chardon Township
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Thwing Road
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Wilson Mills Road in Chester and Munson Townships
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Bell St. and Munn Rd. in Auburn and Newbury Townships
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Ravenwood Dr. and Merritt Rd. in Claridon and Munson Townships
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Pettibone Road. bridge in Bainbridge Township
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Sperry Road bridge in Chester Township
Mr. Hajjar presented a map of the projects which are planned for the 2024 year for discussion purposes. This will set the plan for the engineers. Mr. Spidalieri posed a question as to any outside funding for the projects. The following were presented:
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$1.2 million Federal Grant for the Auburn Rd and Rt. 6 project from the office of US Representative David Joyce
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Public Works money from last year which will be applied to Claridon Troy Rd.
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Working on a $900,000 Federal grant from NOACA (Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency) to be applied to Wilson Mills Rd.
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Applying for state money for Sperry Rd bridge and Riverview Bridge
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$1 million federal grant for Pettibone bridge
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Federal money coming for Robinson Rd. bridge
Typically there are 18-20 miles of road and this remains the same.
Ravenwood and Merritt Road were hit very hard with the plow trucks in and out of the yard and the construction traffic caused a lot of road damage which have created the need for improvements somewhat earlier than usual.
Sheriff's Office received approval to reject all bids submitted to the Geauga County Sheriff’s office for the Microwave Network Upgrade due to discrepancies between the bid specs and the bids submitted.
Maintenance Department received approval for the following:
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To Acknowledge the receipt of a letter from Debra S. Molan (Administrator for the Estate of Paul S. Molan) requesting to terminate the existing contract agreement with M & M Home Improvements for the snowplowing and salt/cindering for the 2022-2024 season of county owned site Group # 1 - Chardon area that was for the period November 1, 2022 through March 31, 2024 due to unforeseen circumstances and the company is no longer in business. This was a two year contract for areas on Chardon Square.
Department of Water Resources received approval for the following:
Discussion: 93 of the 113 residents of Berkshire Heights have completed or are in the process of completing their hook ups to the new Wastewater Treatment Plant, and have received assistance as approved previously. Twelve residents have received their permits but have not completed (or perhaps not started) their process.. There are about 6 sites that have not responded. They will start to knock on doors if necessary.
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To Revise the county’s Water Quality Management Plan or “208 Plan” for Bainbridge Township to reflect the addition of a portion of parcel #02-729397 to “existing sewered”. This is part of Holbrook Hollows, connected to the Bike Trail. They want to add facilities for cyclists - one toilet with a sink. It isn’t in the 208 Plan but they received approval from Chagrin Twp.
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To advertise for bids for the sludge/biosolids/filter bed sand disposal at the McFarland Plant. To be held on August 30, 2023 at 2:30 pm. Notice will be advertised on August 10, 2023, August 17, 2023 and on the county website.
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To execute the State of Ohio services quotation with Spectrum business under the terms of the State of Ohio, Master Services Agreement. This is for fiber internet access for services to the McFarland Wastewater Treatment plant location at 17630 Chagrin River Rd. for a term of 30 months that includes $250 installation fee and monthly service fees of $760, for a total not to exceed the amount of $45,850.00. This was reported to be a “stand alone system”. This contract was previously approved by the ADP Board. See June 13 LWVGeauga Report here.
Commissioners office received approval to waive the 200 hour maximum accrual for Adrian Gorton, Budget and Finance Manager from June 26, 2023 through December 23, 2023.
Additional discussion items not included on the Agenda
Potential contract with University Hospital/Geauga regarding their well. Mr. Morgan reported he had a meeting with UH in regards to the issue with their water system. They want to tap into the county system that will cost $2,000,000. Their water system has too much iron and is causing a problem. They want to use ARPA funds to connect to the County system. According to Morgan there is $6 million left in American Rescue Plan funds but there are funds potentially committed to McFarland and Aquila.
Mr. Dvorak asked if UH would transfer their well to the county. Mr. Morgan said that topic was part of the discussion. Mr. Morgan also mentioned that the County has been looking for a third well. The UH well is good but high in iron. The county would be able to filter out the iron. According to Morgan, discussion is still going on.
Mr. Dvorak asked again later in the meeting about whether there was a contract with UH and Mr. Morgan said no, they are working on it.
Reviewer Comment: many things are unknown about this potential contract, including what county facility UH-Geauga is interested in tying into, whether the capacity exists to service their needs, whether this is a permitted use of ARPA funds, the time frame for reaching agreement, how much revenue this will generate for the county or who is negotiating this contract.
Future use of 470 Center Street Building. Mr. Spidalieri asked Linda Burhenne about the request from the Probation department to temporarily move into 470 Center St. from the courthouse due to anticipated overcrowding due to the upcoming construction.
Mr. Lennon agreed that the intent was to get out of 470 Center St. He suggested that there should be appraisals done as he believes there is interest in that property and others that the County owns. He said “this is what they requested”. He acknowledged that there would be growing pains with the Courthouse project, but they would figure that out with the Annex, the Operahouse and the existing courthouse.
Mr. Spidalieri also mentioned that the Office on Aging needs to figure out a location as they are now in 470 Center St. Also CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is at 470 Center St.
Mr. Dvorak said we are stuck because there are entities in there now, but they should get the 35 acres appraised. He feels that the area north of the Parking Lot (from the new Building) should be evaluated for the future. He also said he feels that the Office on Aging needs to be centrally located.
Mr. Spidalieri expressed concern that we should come up with a plan to permanently move out of 470 Center St. and move forward. He stated that he has been hearing from concerned citizens that the sale of 470 might bring in developers and cluster housing. He expressed his personal concern about cluster housing. He said that the Commissioners have the ability to control the decision and he doesn’t want cluster housing. He said there are other options that should be considered. He referenced that Chardon City was “bending zoning Rules” to push for affordable housing and that the end result, although it looks good now, 35-40 years from now could be different. He urged the Commissioners to look at the principle of what they want to do for the long-term.
Reviewer Comment: LWVG has made inquiries to understand how the referenced parcel is currently zoned and whether any zoning changes have been requested. That information was unavailable at publication.
Dvorak stated he is “1,000 % in favor of keeping Geauga rural” and he wished they had the power to tell the City of Chardon what to do, but Commissioners have no jurisdiction over that.
Spidalieri again said that “we own that property free and clear” and we have to make a good decision.
Morgan said there is a permanent location for the West Geauga Senior Center. Need one for Chardon now. Ms. Burhenne said they need 2-½ acres for the Senior Center.
Flooding concerns at the Geauga Fairgrounds were discussed. There was work done 2 weeks ago and the retention pond is currently holding. Mr Dvorak said that the Berkshire Schools and the Fairgrounds should work collaboratively to find a solution.
No Public Comment
Following the last item, Mr. Spidalieri moved to adjourn. Observer Note: at past meetings Mr. Spidalieri has asked if anyone in the pubic had a question or comment. That did not happen at this meeting.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at about 10:13 am
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available here
Next Meeting: Tuesday August 15, 2023 at 9:30 am
Observers: Mary Heintzelman
Reviewer: Shelly Lewis
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