Transitional Living Center (TLC) Contract Awarded with
Potential Ground Breaking in Late October
Geauga County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board (GC-MHRS) - September 4, 2024
Meeting Details: GC-MHRS Board held its regular monthly meeting on September 4, 2024, at 6:00 pm at the Board offices located at 13244 Ravenna Rd., Chardon, OH 44024. The meeting was a change from the usual schedule of the third Wednesday. This meeting was in person only with no recording available. No agenda was available in advance on the website or on social media, but the agenda is available through a request to Office/Administrative Manager Teresa Slater by email at tslater@geauga.org.
Public Comment Policy: No formal policy but in practice, public comment is permitted at the end of the meeting.
Board Members Attending: Chair Steven Oluic, Vice Chair Alberta Chokshi, Treasurer Michael Petruziello, and Board Members Carolee Lesyk, Reba Dykes, Kathy Johnson, Patricia Varanese, Douglas Lundblad, and Mary Ruth Shumway.
Board Members Absent: Secretary Jimmy Lee Holden
Staff Members Attending: Executive Director Christine Lakomiak, Clinical/Compliance Manager Michelle Maneage, and Finance Director Jim Mausser. Office/Administrative Manager Teresa Slater was not present.
Service Providers: Charles Tong, Chief Financial Officer, Lake-Geauga Recovery; Kristine Frankenberry, Executive Director, NAMI Geauga; Mary Wynne-Peaspanen, Signature Health; Melanie Blasko, Lake Geauga Recovery Center; Vicki Clark, President and CEO, Ravenwood, and Kristy Mowry, Red Tulip Project.
Guests: Members of the public, reporter from Chagrin Valley Times and this LWVG Observer.
Call to Order, Roll Call, and Pledge of Allegiance occurred as listed on the agenda. The meeting was called to order at 6:01 pm.
Minutes from the July 17, 2024 meeting were approved. Minutes are posted on the Board’s webpage here.
Chairman’s Report: Dr. Oluic reported on the following:
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The bids for the Transitional Living Center (TLC) were reviewed and they went with the lower bid.
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He highlighted the work being done by the staff in various areas and complemented all their hard work.
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He discussed the strong link between males and suicide and noted the good work being done by the Geauga Veterans’ Center. He said that GCMHRS is seeking to get more involved with veterans.
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He said they have gotten a new TV and are upgrading the conference room in their building (where GCMHRS meetings are currently held). He said he hoped that the upgrades would make it convenient for other agencies to utilize the conference room.
New Committee Structure: Dr. Oluic said that the Committee structure has been changed due to the anticipated change in size for the Board. No Board members are leaving presently, but the size of the Board has been changed by the County Commissioners. There are now 10 members, but the size will eventually be 9 members. Observer Note: See details in LWVGeauga Observer report for July 17, 2024.
The new Committees will be:
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Programs & Policies: Kathy Johnson - Chair, and Committee Members Alberta Chokshi, Mary Ruth Shumway, Patricia Varanese and Michelle Maneage
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Fiscal & Capital:Reba Dykes - Chair, and Committee Members James Lee Holden, Kathy Johnson, Michael Petruziello, Jim Mauser and Teresa Slater.
This is essentially a combination of prior committees. Mr. Oluic said that they would also discuss some business at the regular Board meetings that might have been discussed during committee meetings.
Executive Director’s Report: Ms. Lakomiak expressed her appreciation for the work the Board has done, and she noted agencies have worked as well to get the TLC moving forward.
1. Ms. Lakomiak talked about Overdose Awareness Day on August 31. She said they had a table at the Great Geauga County Fair to provide overdose awareness information as well as other mental health resource materials. She also attended the Rockin’ with Resources event on July 25 to celebrate the graduates of the New Leaf Drug Court Program. She also mentioned the Journey to Hope remembrance event on August 8, which included a butterfly release and picnic.
2. Making Connections Training - Ms. Lakomiak said this will be on 9/25 and will be a review of clinical engagement to engage families. They have received a grant to purchase the new TV in the conference room to provide more educational opportunities.
3. NOVA training (National Victim Advocacy) - The staff will be attending and hope to bring back best practices information for responders.
4. GCMHRS were able to apply for a grant to assist the LOSS team, and this grant has been received. Ms. Lakomiak is working with victim advocates and they are now able to provide a “go bag” with clothing for victims
5. Ms. Lakomiak is going to Board meetings of contract agencies. She has been to Torchlight, NAMI, and Ravenwood.
6. A representative from Ohio MHAS (Mental Health and Addiction Services) came and met with the Director in the past month. Observer Note: There was nothing mentioned about outcomes from this visit.
7. Regional Crisis Response Center - Ms. Lakomiak said that discussions are ongoing about a Regional Crisis Response Center with area counties. Questionnaires were sent out and a meeting was held with three counties where there was an excellent turnout. Board members Ms. Johnson and Mr. Holden also attended. State Senator Jerry Cirino has obtained a $500,000 award towards this effort. The group identified that a crisis center was needed.
8. Week of Appreciation - Ms. Lakomiak said they received a grant for activities for this group, which will include chair yoga, mindfulness and sessions on workplace balance during the week of September 15-20. Observer Note: From the discussion, this appears to be open to all service providers who receive funding through GCMHRS.
9. NAMI is sponsoring a walk on September 14 at Edgewater Cleveland.
There was a discussion with the Board, initiated by Mr. Lundblad, about programs geared to identify students who might go to a school with intent to kill. Ms. Shumway said that there is an assessment of risk and schools try to get students into alternative programs.
10. ALICE training - There was a brief discussion about this training for preparedness. It was mentioned that schools do have training on what to do in an emergency.
11. Veterans Support - Mr. Lundblad said that they are working more closely with Ravenwood for Veterans. There was a Veterans Fair in Middlefield on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
Dr. Oluic said that there is some misunderstanding of the work of the GCMHRS. He said that a lot of people come in for help, and he mentioned that Board members also get calls. Individuals are then directed to the appropriate sources for assistance.
Committee Structure - This was described above by Dr. Oluic. There were no Committee reports.
Board Review and Action Items
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has made an appropriation of $24,800 to GCMHRS, with $15,000 of these funds to be used for the expansion or enhancement of Evidence-Based Prevention Programs in community settings and $9,800 to be used in school settings. Board member Mr. Petruziello asked if there were programs that specifically helped students with religious education that were faith-based programs. Ms. Lakomiak said that faith is one of the components that is discussed at intake meetings as it can be viewed as a resource for the client. Ms. Veranese said that there are grants available specifically for faith-based programming. Ms. Shumway said that “Miss Kendra’s List” utilizes faith. Observer Note: Here is a link to Miss Kendra’s Programming information. It is not clear if anyone in Geauga County is using this resource. Ms. Shumway Is the Director of the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Program in Geauga County.
Dr. Oluic and Ms. Lakomiak said that the contract with Millstone Management Group is for $2,635,522, which exceeds the amount they had expected by $500,000 but is the lowest bid. Dr. Oluic further said that they hope to break ground by the end of October. Board members asked what the process would be if there were cost overruns. Dr. Oluic assured them that they would be monitoring and that, in his experience, sometimes the cost can actually be reduced. He said that this is a reputable group and experienced in this type of building. An additional Resolution was added (see below) to transfer funds to the proper account to get started.
Director Lakomiak explained that this funding, in the amount of $85,000, is from the Northeast Ohio Collaborative for programs targeting crisis and community response, outreach treatment and support in the area of criminal justice. It enables a staff person from Ravenwood to be present in the Geauga Safety Center. The President and CEO for Ravenwood, Vicki Clark, also said that this enables intensive mental health programs and can assist incarcerated individuals to be released sooner. The program works in partnership with Geauga Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke.
As previously stated, this transfer is to ensure that there are sufficient funds for the TLC Project. Ms. Lakomiak also stated that they will be using grant funds first. Observer Note: The amounts of this transfer and amount of grant funds were not stated.
Mr. Mauser said that they receive funding for medications in the Safety Center and that this is a pass-through from the Ohio MHAS (Mental Health and Addiction Services). Amounts were not discussed.
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Public Comments: None
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:03 pm.
Board Minutes: Available at https://www.geauga.org/board-minutes/
Next meeting: The next meeting will be on October 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm at the Board offices located at 13244 Ravenna Rd., Chardon, OH 44024.
More Information: https://www.geauga.org/
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: 09/11/2024
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