Geauga Public Health Board Members Urge Measles Vaccination
Geauga Public Health (GPH) - February 26, 2025
Meeting Details: The GPH Board met in Regular Session at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168, Chardon, OH, on February 26, 2025 at 5 pm. This meeting is in person with no virtual viewing or video. The Agenda is posted on the GPH Facebook page a few days prior to the meeting and then typically is posted on the GPH website. The Agenda can be found here. Observer Note: Prior to the January meeting, GPH meetings were live streamed with a video posted later. This was done by Geauga ADP (Automatic Data Processing) for no charge, but Geauga Public Health was informed in December 2024 that going forward there would be an annual charge of $15,000 for this service. The GPH Board elected to discontinue this practice due to the cost involved. See December 18, 2024 GPH Observer Report for details.
Public Comment Policy: There is no separate written policy, but in practice “Citizens’ Remarks” are listed on the agenda and are permitted as detailed there.
Board Attendance:
It was noted that there is a vacancy on the board which will be filled at the HDAC meeting in March. Observer Note: This was discussed during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Staff Attendance:
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Dan Lark, Director of Environmental Health
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Ron Graham, Lake and Geauga Health Commissioner
Adam Litke, Administrator was absent. Dr. Hendrickson expressed his thoughts and prayers for the Litke family as they grieve the death of Mr. Litke’s father.
Others Present: Five members of the public, including former GPH Board member Lynn Roman, a reporter from the Geauga Maple Leaf, and this LWVG observer were present.
Call to Order
Called to order at 5:00 pm.
Opening of Meeting
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A quorum was declared, as well as a Certification of the Delivery of Official notices of meeting.
Minutes - The Board approved Minutes of the Regular Meeting held on January 15, 2025. The minutes are available here when posted.
Health District Staff Reports
Observer Note: These reports are available with the Agenda on the Geauga Public Health (GPH) website. See Agenda here.
Population Health Report - Mr. Graham said that they are applying for the “Get Vaccinated Ohio” grant. University Hospital is assisting with the Community Health Assessment. They have received 160 resident surveys as well as survey responses from 30 community stakeholders.
Environmental Health Report - Mr. Lark pointed to a graphic on how they are doing with their inspections for the phase that they are working on - NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) system. Observer Note: These systems are defined as: “A discharging sewage treatment system (that) treats and then discharges treated effluent to a stream, ditch or other surface water body.” See more information here. Mr. Lark said that they have had to make 400 return trips because residents are not available, dogs and/or fences bar access, or residents simply don’t fix the issues after the first visit. The chart presented data showing that there were 1,775 NPDES samples examined: 46.5% failed, 28.2% were nuisance failures and 25.4% passed. For Spray Irrigation Systems, there were 154 samples: 64.3% failed, 12.3% were nuisance failures, and 23.4% passed.
Dr. Jones asked whether alarms had been going off for these systems that failed, and Mr. Lark said that people had turned off their alarms. He further said that, in order for these systems to be considered a public nuisance, e-coli is the only pollutant considered. Dr. Rood noted that there could be an EPA flag without a public nuisance, which Mr. Lark agreed was correct. Dr. Jones said it would be nice to see a before and after review.
Administrator’s Report - Mr. Litke was not there to give the report, but the 2026 Budget was the main concern because it has to be ready for the HDAC meeting in mid-March. Observer Note: See the section on the 2026 budget approval below for more information.
Health Commissioner’s Report - See Agenda for Complete Report- Mr. Graham said that some data from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) was removed but that some of it is coming back. Observer Note: Immunization guidelines are available on the CDC website here. See information from NPR (National Public Radio) about specific information that had been deleted from the CDC website.
Old Business - None
New Business - The following resolutions were all approved:
Financial Reports, Resolution 25–02-06-01-01 - Approved
Permission to Approve Appropriations for Increase/Decrease - This was explained by Mr. Graham as a move of $10,000 into the General Fund to pay bills.
The following Resolutions 2025-7 through 2025-11 were taken together. There were no questions and they were approved unanimously.
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Resolution 2025-7 - Then and Now Purchase Order to Lake County General Health District, Not to Exceed $10,735.00
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Resolution 2025-8: Then and Now Purchase Order to Geauga County Department of Water Resources, Not to Exceed $3,760.00
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Resolution 2025-9: Then and Now Purchase Order to The Baldwin Group, Not to Exceed $1,214.00
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Resolution 2025-10: Then and Now Purchase Order to Geauga County ADP Board, Not to Exceed $15,353.65
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Resolution 2025-11: Then and Now Purchase Order to Green Acres Excavating and Sewer, Not to Exceed $29,000.00
The following Resolutions were also taken together and approved unanimously
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Resolution 2025-12: Then and Now Purchase Order to Geauga County Commissioners, Not to Exceed $4,347.50
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Resolution 2025-13: Then and Now Purchase Order to Lake County General Health District, Not to Exceed $16,725.00
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Resolution 2025-14: Then and Now Purchase Order to Geauga County ADP, Not to Exceed $65.00
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Resolution 2025-15: Then and Now Purchase Order to Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, Not to Exceed $167.50
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Resolution 2025-16: Then and Now Purchase Order to Geauga County Commissioners, Not to Exceed $4,559.89
Permission to Amend the Contract with HS GovTech, $64,706.25 - approved unanimously
Permission to Approve the 2026 Geauga Public Health Budget - approved unanimously
There was discussion of needing more staff to properly get up to speed on Operation and Maintenance, which will occur before revenue comes in from this program. Mr. Graham said that this creates a situation when they will have a $132,000 deficit in 2025 due to more staff but not the increase in revenue. He said they hope to be “flat” in 2026. They will need to hire 1-2 people in 2026.
Mr. Graham said that the shared positions have saved a lot of money. Observer Note: There is a line item in the budget for $2.2 Million that is listed as legal fees and CJA. In response to an inquiry from this observer, it was explained that this is almost entirely for personnel in connection with the Cross Jurisdiction Agreement (CJA) and not legal fees. The CJA is the agreement between Lake County and Geauga County in which Lake County Public Health is providing administrative and personnel services. See LWVGeauga Report from March 15, 2023 for more information.
Resolution Authorizing Dan Lark, 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 Unanimously.
Mr. Lark said that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) gives money to replace or repair home systems. They have received $75,000, which is an increase from the $50,000 that was received last year.
Citizen’s Remarks -
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There was a question about the vacancy on the Board and how it would be filled. Dr. Hutchison said that interested persons will apply to the Health District Advisory Council (HDAC) and that Geauga Public Health is not the entity which selects Geauga Public Health (GPH) Board members. He said that one person who applied was former GPH Board member Lynn Roman (in the public). Observer Note: The HDAC is made up of trustees of each of Geauga County’s 16 townships, a representative from each of the county’s three villages and Chardon City and one Geauga County Commissioner. It holds appointment power for the Geauga Public Health Board. The opening was created when former Board member Carolyn Brakey was elected County Commissioner and began her term as Commissioner in January. The opening will be filled at the HDAC meeting on March 12, 2025 at 7pm at the Geauga County Office building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon OH. The public may attend and can speak briefly in favor of any nominee
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This observer asked if there had been any cases of measles in the County. Mr. Graham said there had been no cases. The three Board members who are in the medical profession spoke strongly about the importance of childhood vaccinations, in particular the vaccination for measles. Dr. Rood, who has a primary care practice, said that in his office they have developed a protocol if someone wants to make an appointment and they have a fever and rash. He said that they first ask about whether the person has traveled outside the state. He then talked about how contagious measles is and that it is very easily transmitted.
8.0 Executive Session - No session requested
Motion to Adjourn at 5:50 pm
Next Regular Meeting: March 26, 2025 at 5:00 pm. All meetings are held at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168, Chardon, OH.
More Information: Geauga Public Health
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Submission Date: March 5, 2025
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