Board of County Commissioners - October 24, 2023
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met at 9:30 AM on October 24, 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 Comment: At the July 11, 2023 meeting, it was noted that the public had difficulty hearing the discussions between Mr. Morgan, Ms. Blair, and the Commissioners. At the time it was stated that microphones would be installed. This issue remains unresolved with no working microphones for the Commissioners, Ms. Blair and Mr. Morgan.
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.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and a prayer was offered by Commissioner James Dvorak.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners Ralph Spidalieri, James Dvorak and Timothy Lennon. Also present were Commissioners' Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Gerald Morgan, Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne, and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.
County Representatives: Joanne Santilli, Transit; Elaine Malkamaki, Program Director, Department of Community and Economic Development; Shane Hajjar, Deputy Design/Planning Engineer; Katie Taylor, Administrator, Alyssa Steinhoff, Financial Administrator, Craig Swenson, Director, Job and Family Services; Nicholas Gorris, Director, Department of Water Resources; Linda Crombie, Director, Planning Commission; Ron Leyde, Chief Deputy Auditor, and Pam McMahan, Fiscal Office Manager, Auditor’s Office.
Budget Commission Members: James Flaiz, Prosecutor, Charles Walder, Auditor, and Christopher Hitchcock, Treasurer.
Others in Attendance: Reporters from the Geauga Maple Leaf and Chagrin Valley Times; Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, Chief Deputy Thomas Rowan, Carolyn Brakey, President Geauga Public Health, Tom and Diane Jones, several other members of the public, and this observer (Gail Roussey), Observer Sarah McGlone and LWVG member Candy VanDercar.
No Minutes were reviewed or approved at this meeting. Reviewer Comment: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for BOCC are available online through October 12, 2023 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved BOCC minutes.
Report of County Administrator Mr. Morgan - Mr. Morgan reported on the following actions taken by him pursuant to authority granted to him by the Commissioners:
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Approved Office on Aging Western Reserve Agency Grant for community based services
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Accepted the resignation of Office on Aging Budget and Fiscal Officer and agreed to post for the replacement
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Approved changing the date for hiring of full time Recreation Assistant for Office on Aging
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Approved the hiring in Water Resources of a full time mechanic
Financial Report: Mr. Gorton presented the financial report, which was approved and included the following:
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Appropriation Transfer to the Treasurer's office to cover Payroll for year-end raises, not previously budgeted
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Supplemental transfer to cover the increased cost for the hiring of Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne, as that was not budgeted
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Cash Transfer to Board of Developmental Disabilities (DD) due to gas well proceeds. Observer Note: It is not clear why the Board of DD would have gas wells, but it is an item listed periodically in the financial report. See Observer Report for November 8, 2022.
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Cash Transfers to Community Development, Metzenbaum, and Board of Elections as a result of interest income
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Purchase Order from the Building Department to Junction Auto for a 2023 replacement vehicle
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Travel requests for the Commissioners, Engineers, Public Defender and Water Resources
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Then and Now from Water Resources for monitoring of the alarm system to Mission Communications LLC
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Vouchers:
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$99,397 to Donley’s for payment #31 for the new county office building
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$22,640.42 from the Commissioners to Environments 4 Business, Inc., final payment for furniture for the new county office building
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$954,514 from Engineers to Ronyak Paving for the paving of Clay Street and Morgan and Leggett Roads
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Revenue Certification in the Sheriff’s 800 Communications Fund
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Water Resources to “true up” (reconcile) accounts for additional revenue received.
The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #23-177 requesting the County Auditor to Establish a New Fund in regard to the Healthy Aging Grant, to account for monies received, expended and distributed by the Board of County Commissioners in accordance with the requirements of the grant.
The County Engineer’s Office received approval for the following:
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To execute Change Order #1 and Final, increasing the Contract with Ronyak Paving, Inc., for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Washington Street (CH-0606, Sections C-E) in Auburn and Bainbridge Townships in the amount of $18,656.65
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To execute the Agreement between Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Info Tech, Inc., d.b.a. INFOTECH and further authorize the President of the Board to execute the InfoTech Bid Express Order Form for equipment and services for the County Engineer’s Office to utilize the BidExpress platform to receive Bids for applicable projects
There is no cost to the County to use this service, as the fees are paid by the Vendors wishing to submit
bids for the projects.
It was stated that not everyone uses the Bid Express, but that it is a very good tool. Mr. Hajjer said that
for some contractors, such as Amish contractors, this is not utilized.
The Planning Commission received approval to execute the Janson Subdivision Re-Plat of Sublots 1 and 2 in Auburn Township.
The Department of Development (Community & Economic) received approval to execute the Agreement with Dex Imaging for the purchase of a Ricoh IMC3010 Copier with all parts, labor, travel for all service, preventative maintenance, toner and image units included in the amount of $7,544.00 for the copier and a cost of $0.01 cents per copy for Black and White and $0.07 cents per copy for Color, for a period of five years, in a not to exceed amount of $30,000.00.
Mr. Lennon inquired about whether this company was the same one that installed a different copier in the Commissioner’s office which isn't working? Mr. Morgan stated that it was the same company but they have come in and are working on it and have an idea of the nature of the problem.
Geauga Transit received approval to execute a letter of support to the Ohio Department of Transportation for the Workforce Mobility Partnership Grant Program. This will allow them to start in the Middlefield area going into Warren. The next goal would be to transport Amish within the county. The grant will provide operating expenses for 3 years and 3 buses, with 4 full time drivers and 1-½ dispatchers for 3 years. The hope is to get it up and going with the help of this grant and look for more funding to keep it going at a later date. Mr. Dvorak said that State Senator Sandra O’Brien had called and Mr. Dvorak had affirmed that this was a good program.
The Department of Water Resources received approval to execute Contract Maintenance Form #1 extending the current service Contract Agreement with Buckeye Scale, LLC, through December 31, 2023 in the same amount of $5,000.00. Mr. Dvorak asked about other scales and also about the age of the primary scale. Mr. Gorris said they were reviewing whether it would need to be replaced. Mr. Lennon asked about the McFarland scale and was told that it is not working and Mr. Gorris said it is being repaired right now.
The Budget Commission convened their public meeting to discuss options to help mitigate the increase in Geauga County property taxes due to the 2023 Property Revaluation. Geauga County home valuations will increase by approximately 30% on average, which will result in a $9.6 million increase in inside millage taxes.
This portion of the Agenda was lengthy and is covered in full in a separate report on this Budget Commission Special Meeting.
The County Commissioners took action to ask that a Resolution be prepared by the County Commissioners’ Office and by Prosecutor Flaiz to reduce collection on two Job and Family Services (JFS) levies. The County Commissioners pledged to give JFS an amount of funding equivalent to what the reduced levies would have brought in. This would be possible due to the anticipated inside millage windfall of $2.4 million that the County will receive as a result of increased property valuations. This decision was reached in order to reduce the amount of tax increase that would occur due to the increased property values taking effect as a result of the recently completed Revaluation.
The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #23-178 Amending Resolution #21-095 Authorizing the County Auditor to make an application for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Funds, to submit any required reports and to place the funds in the appropriate County Sub-funds, amending the Distribution Amounts to the Sub-funds.
Commissioner Dvorak asked for a spreadsheet of where the funds had been distributed. Mr. Morgan said that he would get him one.
Observer Note: This action was not explained, but it appears to be a paperwork detail.
Executive Session: The County Commissioners, Mr. Morgan, and Ms. Burhenne all went into the Executive Session to discuss the purchase or sale of property at approximately 10:35 am.
11:39 am Following Executive Session, there was no action taken, and the discussion about purchase of property will continue next week.
Observer Note: This Observer was not present for the remainder of the meeting, but the following information was based on a video of the meeting posted by a private news service.
Public Comment
JFS Director Craig Swenson and Financial Administrator Alyssa Steinhoff asked to speak to the County Commissioners. Mr. Swenson expressed his concern about the Budget Commission’s proposed solution involving reducing JFS’ levies; he was also concerned that JFS was not informed about this prior to the meeting. He said that he had good relationships with the members of the Budget Commision and was upset that no one notified him about this proposed change. The County Commissioners took responsibility for not informing JFS before the meeting and expressed their appreciation for the work done by Mr. Swenson and his staff. There was no change to the direction chosen by the County Commissioners to reduce the JFS levies.
Not on the Agenda
Healthy Aging Grant: Ms. Burhenne said that the Prosecutor’s Office asked for a motion regarding the Healthy Aging Grant. The Commissioners did approve this action. There was then a discussion about whether the Commissioners need to hire their own in-house counsel to review contracts and other things to reduce the workload on the Prosecutor’s Office and expedite work for the BOCC. There was no action taken, but Mr. Morgan indicated that he would be looking into this.
Motion to Adjourn (no further Public Comment solicited or given)
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available here
Next Meeting: October 31, 2023 at 9:30 am.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: 10/27/23
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