Geauga Public Health (GPH) - Regular Meeting - February 28, 2024
Meeting Details: The GPH Board met in Regular Session at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B303, Chardon, OH, on February 28, 2024 at 5 pm. This meeting was livestreamed by Geauga County ADP. Typically the Agenda is posted on their Facebook page a few days prior to the meeting. The video is available here.
Public Comment Policy: There is no separate written policy, but in practice, “Citizens’ Remarks” are included on the agenda and are permitted as detailed there.
Board Attendance: (as seated, from L to R).
Staff Attendance:
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Adam Litke - Administrator (end of table left)
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Ron Graham, Heath Commissioner for both Geauga and Lake County (seated at the end of the table right)
Legal Counsel: Bryan Kostura, McDonald Hopkins, LLC
Others Present: Six members of the public, League of Women Voters Geauga member Rooney Moy and this observer.
Call to Order: Called to order at 5:00 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A quorum was declared and delivery of official notices of meeting was certified.
Minutes: The Board approved Minutes of the Regular Meeting on 1/17/24. Observer Note: Board of Health Published Minutes are up-to-date; the most recent minutes published are for the December 20, 2023 Regular Meeting. Use the down arrow under Select Category at the top to search for the correct year at the link provided.
Health District Staff Reports (Observer Note: These reports are available with the agenda on the GPH Facebook Page)
Population Health Report - No report was presented, although there were several reports in the Agenda.
4 Min. Environmental Health Report -
Observer Note: There was a great deal of additional information in the packet (also available with the Agenda on the GPH Facebook Page). Of note, there will be a public hearing on March 12th at 6 pm in the 3rd floor conference room of the County Office Building to hear public comment related to the new $30 fees for a one-year operational permit for NPDES systems. Also listed was the fact that there was a public meeting for the residents of the first locations slated to have their septic systems tested (Russell, Munson and Newbury Townships). Invitations were sent to 800 residents, and 15 attended the session on February 12th.
Parkman Wells - There was a discussion of the status of the Parkman Township wells that were contaminated by salt. A map was presented that showed which wells had been completed, which properties did not need new wells due to low salt levels, and which residents did not wish to be tested despite repeated attempts to contact them (11).
It was noted that in some cases problem wells were next to a property that had no well issues. Mr. Litke said this could be due to depth of well, casement issues or other issues.
Septic Review - Mr. Litke discussed the inspections of septic systems. He said the State average of septic system inspection failures is 38%, but in a review of inspections in Geauga County over a 20 year period the failure rate was about 41%. This information will be presented at the upcoming HDAC (Health District Advisory Council) meeting on March 13th at 6 pm.
Mr. Litke then said he was going to allow public comment with a resident who has a significant issue to discuss.
13.55 Min. Dump Site - Butternut Road - Burton Resident Wes Hellinger, 14481 Butternut Road, made a presentation and a request to the Board to shut down the sewage dump site next to his property. The site is run by Kauffman Septic Service LLC. Mr. Hellinger had contacted the Board in June 2006 regarding this issue, but he was told nothing could be done. The amount of sewage dumped has increased over time to 900,00 gallons a year. Mr. Hellinger said he was especially concerned about the impact of the dump site on his Amish neighbor and the Amish schools nearby. He also mentioned that this site is within 3,000 feet of the new unified Berkshire School District building. Dr. Hendrickson expressed interest in visiting the site. Dr. Rood thanked Mr. Hellinger for bringing this situation to the Board’s attention. The Board indicated they would investigate the history and permissibility of the dumping.
Target Fire - Mr. Litke reported that, due to the fire at the Target in Bainbridge, the store’s food had to be thrown away.
28 Min. Administrator’s Report
1. Public Records – GPH continues to utilize legal services to complete review and submission of public records requests. Mr. Litke and Mr. Kostura (Board attorney) discussed the recent anonymous public record request. The requester asked for all references in all documents, minutes, etc, to Chardon City from 2010-2024. Observer Note: At the last meeting of the Geauga Public Health on January 17, 2024, there was a discussion about why Chardon is important to an issue of whether Geauga Public Health should pay rent to the Commissioners. See the January 17 Meeting Observer Report which stated, “The BOCC asked the County Prosecutor to request that the Ohio Attorney General rule on whether GPH is a combined health district since the county includes the City of Chardon (which could have its own health department). As a combined district, GPH would then have to pay rent to the county for their office space. Mr. Litke stated that GPH has been serving Chardon since before Chardon became a city.” Litke said they closed for a day (except for phone calls) so that staff could go through documents and send them to Mr. Kostura and his staff. Mr. Kostura stated that he contacted the anonymous requester to ask for more specificity but has not received a reply. They have to redact any medical information and also have to ensure that the information is responsive to the request.
Mr. Litke also reported that there was an article in the Chagrin Valley Times about an occurrence at the Board of County Commissioners in which Mr. Claypool asserted that there were only two people working at Geauga Public Health. Mr. Litke refuted that statement and offered to lead folks on a tour of the offices. See LWV Geauga report for BOCC for February 13, 2024 for more information. Mr. Litke said that staff were frustrated by this incident.
2. State Audit – The audit has been completed and an exit conference held. Overall, the audit was very positive and auditors said that GPH is doing a great job in regards to financial controls.
3. Health District Advisory Council (HDAC) – The regular 2024 meeting is set for March 13th at 6:30pm, with an option to meet and greet prior to the meeting. The meeting will be held at the 12611 Ravenwood Drive building (new County office building) 3rd floor.
4. Annual Report - Will be released for HDAC.
39 Min. Health Commissioner’s Report - Mr. Graham stated that there will be some issues with the Accreditation that will need to be addressed. Observer Note: Accreditation of County Health Departments is on a five year cycle and is required by the State of Ohio. See Ohio Department of Health for more information. Mr. Graham also referred Board members to the request in New Business to establish a Hybrid Drug Overdose and Suicide Review Committee (see discussion below on this). Dr. Jones volunteered to be on this Committee.
Board members thanked Mr. Graham for the information contained in his report to the Board (see Agenda).
Old Business
42 Min. Geauga Public Health Rent Discussion - Mr Litke said that the County Commissioners had asked the Prosecutor for an opinion whether they are a combined health district. Mr. Litke said they don’t know what to plan for because they just don’t know how the prosecutor will decide the issue.
43 Min. New Business
6.01 Resolutions
6.01.01 Financial Reports, Resolution 24-01-06-01-01. Approved (see Agenda for information)
There were questions about the time periods for the Lake County payments.
6.01.02 Permission to Approve Appropriation for Increase/Decrease (HB110) - Approved, Dr. Jones Abstaining.
Litke said this is to increase the Purchase Order for payments on HB110. Observer Note: For background on this issue see the March 15, 2023 Observer Report. Mr. Kostura said that they have had to spend more time finding the individual person who was at the address listed. He said there could have been four different people at a property, each with a payment due.
Mr. Kostura said that the Administrator of the fund is about ready to make the payments. There are 481 addresses, and over 600 people.
6.01.03 Resolution 2024-1: Then and Now Purchase Order to McDonald Hopkins, Not to Exceed $500.00. Mr. Litke said the next three are Then and Nows (A purchase order was not open at the time) from 2023 or January 2024, but should be paid now. Approved
6.01.04 Resolution 2024-2: Then and Now Purchase Order to Expert IT LLC, Not to Exceed $7,200.00 Approved
6.01.05 Resolution 2024-3: Then and Now Purchase Order to Lake County General Health District, Not to Exceed $99,582.56 (December’s bill) Approved Mr. Litke said that the contract was under budget in December by $13,000.
6.02 Permission to Approve the 2025 Geauga Public Health Budget Approved
Mr. Litke said that this is the 2025 budget with what we know today. He said that, although the
budget is updated now, it will need to be updated again before the beginning of 2025. He said it has to be approved this month by the Board in order to go to HDAC (March 13 annual meeting) and to the County Commissioners and the Budget Commission (April 1).
Mr. Litke said there are increasing costs. Ms. Roman asked what would happen if the budget “goes sideways.” Mr. Litke said they try to be as close as they can, but a change, such as a grant, can throw off everything. He mentioned that the O&M program (Operation and Maintenance) is rolling out and will be a 5-year cycle. Mr. Litke said, “It is a monstrosity of a program. It’s mandated and unfunded. “
6.03 Permission for the Health Commissioner to Request the Geauga County Commissioners
to Establish a Hybrid Drug Overdose and Suicide Review Committee Approved
This is a request to the Commissioners to establish the committee. There will be mandated members, such as a Board member, public member, etc. Mr. Graham will be the chair.
6.04 Permission to Approve the Geauga Public Health Credit Card Policy Approved
There has not been a credit card in the past. This is for vendors who don’t accept getting billed or checks. It is also better for tax exempt purposes and meets all the State criteria.
6.05 Resolution 2024-4: Authorizing Adam Litke, Administrator, to Apply for, Accept and Enter into a
Water Pollution Control Loan Fund Agreement on Behalf of Geauga Public Health of Geauga County for the Repair and Replacement of Home Sewage Treatment Systems Approved with Dr. Jones abstaining
6.06 Resolution to Create Certain Fees, Operation & Maintenance Program, First Reading Approved
with Dr. Jones abstaining. There will be publication and public comment before there is final approval.
6.07 Discussion Related to SYBR-AER System Replacements - There was a brief discussion about
whether fees could be waived, as in a recent case when a homeowner had to put in another system right after he had put in a first system. SYBR-AER is a state approved system, but this one did fail. Dr. Rood said that the Board looked to Mr. Litke to exercise discretion in cases like this.
Public Comments
No public comment
113 Min. Executive Session - The Board passed a motion by roll call vote to enter into Executive Session to discuss pending litigation. Mr. Litke said there would be no actions taken following the Executive Session, so this Observer left the meeting at this point. The Board entered executive session at 6:12 pm.
Next Regular Meeting: March 27 at 5 pm. All meetings are held at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B303, Chardon, OH.
More Information: Geauga Public Health
Observer: Gail Roussey with Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Submission Date: March 2, 2024
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