Board of County Commissioners - April 30, 2024
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met at 9:30 am on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at the County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. The 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 and at the 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, but public comment was permitted.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners Spidalieri and James Dvorak. Commissioner Timothy Lennon was absent. Also present were County Administrator Gerald Morgan, Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne, Finance Manager Adrian Gorton, and Commissioners' Clerk Christine Blair.
County Representatives: Nick Gorris, Director, Water Resources; Shane Hajjar, Engineer’s Department; Glen Vernick, Director, Maintenance; James Flaiz, Prosecutor; Charles Walder, Auditor; Scott Hildenbrand, Sheriff; Thomas Rowan, Chief Deputy Sheriff; Frank Antenucci, Chief Deputy Administrator, ADP, and Craig Swenson, Executive Director, Job and Family Services.
Others in Attendance: Carolyn Brakey, County Commissioner Candidate and Geauga Public Health District Board Member; representatives from the ADP department; reporters from the Geauga County Maple Leaf, other members of the public, and this observer.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, and a prayer was offered by Mr. Dvorak.
Minutes: Minutes from the meetings of March 12 and March 19, 2024 were both approved. Observer Comment: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for BOCC are available online through April 23, 2024 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through March 5, 2024.
Administrator’s Report
Mr. Morgan reported on actions he had taken in the prior week that had been authorized by ORC and the Commissioners:
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Department on Aging - Reclassification of an employee from Part-time to Full-time Recreation and Education Assistant.
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Department of Emergency Services - Revised title and job description for the currently posted position of Planner to Planner/Trainer.
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Water Resources - Approved the promotion of Joshua Smock to the position of Engineering Technician.
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Maintenance - Approved and executed a service contract with Tim Frank Septic Tank Cleaning Co. for septic cleaning at various sites in Geauga County for a two year period not to exceed $7,500.00.
Financial Report
Mr. Gorton received approval for the following:
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Appropriations transfer from Commissioner’s Miscellaneous Account to Public Defender for unemployment claims that were not included in the budget.
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Cash transfer from the Sheriff’s Office to Unemployment Rotary Fund.
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Cash Transfer from General Fund to Court Technology for a portion of 2024 funding.
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Travel
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Common Pleas
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Engineer's Office
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Job and Family Services
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Juvenile Court
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Public Defender
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Contract purchase order from Maintenance to Clerac LLC dba Enterprise Cars Sales for the purchase of a 2022 Ford Transit Van.
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Then and Now from Water Resources to Emery Electric for electrical work not previously encumbered.
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Vouchers
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$4,000.00 from ADP to Tyler Technologies Inc. for cloud integration import services
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$470,928.00 from Commissioners Office to CORSA (County Risk Sharing Authority) for the 2024 Property Liability insurance premium.
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$328,626.57 from Community Development to ICP Geauga Lake LLC for the third draw on a demolition project in the Geauga Lake district. This will be paid for by a state demolition grant.
The County Engineer’s Office received approval to award the bid to TRAX Construction Company for the Replacement of Thwing Road Bridge (Structure #B-02.660-2024) in Chardon and Munson Townships in the amount of $305,549.00 as they represented the lowest and best bid.
The County Engineer’s Office received approval to appoint Mr. Spidalieri (alternate Mr. Morgan) and Mr. Dvorak (alternate Mrs. Burhenne) to the Ohio Public Works Commission, District 7 Integrating Committee for a three-year term, July 21, 2024 through July 20, 2027.
The Prosecutor’s Office received approval to execute Resolution #24-068 Requesting to Establish a new Municipal Prosecution Fund for the tracking of all revenue and expenses for municipal prosecutions performed under contract for municipal corporations.
The Sheriff’s Office received approval to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS,) Subgrant Award Agreements for Stop Violence Against Women, VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) Grant #2023-WF-VA2-8214 in the amount of $52,728.23 ($39,546.18 OCJS, $13,182.05 Local County match). This grant is for the period January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 and VAWA Grant #2020-WF-VA2-8214A in the amount of $3,671.81 ($2,753.86 OCJS, $917.95 Local County match). This grant is for the period January 1, 2024 through August 31, 2024.
The Maintenance Department received approval for the following:
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To execute the service Contract Agreement with Quadient, Inc., to perform Postage Machine/Rental Maintenance for a three-year period, effective April 30, 2024 in an amount not to exceed $20,000.00.
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To advertise for Bids for the 2024-2027 County Office Building HVAC Maintenance to be held on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Notice of this Bid Opening will be advertised on May 2, 2024, May 9, 2024, and on the county website.
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To advertise for Bids for the 2024-2027 “South” HVAC Maintenance to be held on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at 2:10 p.m. Notice of this Bid Opening will be advertised on May 2, 2024, May 9, 2024 and on the county website. Reviewer Note: The definition of “South” HVAC was not part of the discussion.
The Department of Water Resources received approval for the following:
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To execute the service Contract Agreement with Hershberger Roofing and Siding to perform Roof, Siding and Window Repair services as needed at various locations within the Department for a one-year period, effective April 30, 2024, in an amount not to exceed $40,000.00.
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To approve and execute Resolution #24-069 Approving Return of Approved Funds from American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 as these funds are no longer required for Berkshire Heights Sewer Connections, in the amount of $1,400.00.
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To approve the creation, title, and job description for the position of Equipment Operator (#2353) to be effective April 30, 2024.
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To abolish the positions of Network Administrator (#2315) and Network Technician (#2341) to be effective April 30, 2024.
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To approve the revised Organizational Chart to include the position of Equipment Operator (#2353) and remove the positions of Network Administrator (#2315) and Network Technician (#2341) to be effective April 30, 2024.
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To advertise for the position of Equipment Operator (#2353) internally for a period of five days. If there are no qualified candidates, then Water Resources will advertise externally until the position is filled.
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To approve and execute the Contract Agreement with Agri-Sludge, Inc., for the Aquilla Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement Project in the amount of $1,641,850.00. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project.
The Commissioners received approval for:
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To execute the Request for Partial Payment #7 for Infinity Construction Company, Inc., for the Geauga County Courthouse Expansion GMP #1 and #2 expenses in the amount of $528,298.78.
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To execute the following resolutions for forty-three (43) Girl Scouts in Northeast Ohio who have achieved their Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts. The following are the 14 Girl Scouts from Geauga County:
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Emily Berdis
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Rebecca Fullerman
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Anna Gracon
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Caitlin Mann
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Briana Massi
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Megan McGinnis
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Alyssa Mobley
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Morgan Palchick
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Grace Romanoff
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Samantha Sunderhaft
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Emily Vieira
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Sophie Voudris
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Contessa Wilson
Work Session: There was a work session held between the Commissioners and Auditor’s Office/ADP. This was to address the needs for the ADP offices. Currently, they have outgrown their space and have been using conference room #332 as additional space. Observer Note: See the Observer Report for the 3/26/2024 BOCC Meeting for more information about this situation. Mr. Walder and Mr. Antenucci presented their issues, questions and concerns. Mr. Walder gave Commissioners copies of various print outs that ADP had received over the last two to three years. These plans were from TDA (Then Design Architects), the Maintenance Department, and drawings from a walk thru of the Chase building on Chardon Square. All three of the plans identified additional space for ADP. Mr. Walder stated that clearly this was an issue that had been identified and nothing had ever been resolved. He said he is open to discussing options but feels that it would be best to stay in the county office building, as this building has the largest number of employees that utilize the services of ADP. In reference to the conference room, Mr. Walder stated: “We can’t vacate without somewhere to go.”
ADP took over the Archives Department in January, and Mr. Walder stated that there had been discussion of ADP taking over the Archive space. He stated that it was not an ideal situation as there would be exposure to sensitive documents.
Prosecutor and ADP Board member Jim Flaiz was in the audience, as he had presented an earlier unrelated resolution. He asked “Why can't they stay in 332 - that's a no cost solution?” Mr. Spidalieri remarked that it was not designed for that use.
Mr. Spidalieri met last week with Adam Litke from the Health Department. Their offices are next to ADP, and Mr. Litke showed space in their offices that is not being utilized. This would be the spaces #328 and #310. They came to an agreement, although Mr. Walder stated that it is not optimal for the ADP department but he would like to move on.
Mr. Vernick said that he would get some numbers for the project. The Commissioners approved for the project to move forward.
It was decided that ADP will stay in the conference room until the new space is ready.
Executive Session:
The Department of Job and Family Services requested the Board move into Executive Session for purposes of discussing the discipline of a public employee. They returned with action on a disciplinary suspension of an employee for three days.
Public Comment: Solicited, but none offered
Meeting adjourned.
More Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.
Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next meeting following this meeting will be May 7, 2024 at 9:30 am at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. After May 7, the next meeting will be May 14th at the same time and location.
Observer: Mary Heintzelman
Editor/Reviewer: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Date Submitted: 5/07/2024
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