BOE Targets July 8th for Move to Geauga County Office Building
Geauga County Board of Elections (BOE) - Special Meeting 06/18/2025
Meeting Info - Special Meeting on June 18, 2025, at 9:00 am in BOE Conference Room at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon, OH, 44024. Attendance options were both in-person and virtual, via Microsoft (MS) Teams. An agenda was provided in advance.
Public Comment Policy - The Board of Elections typically responds to questions about agenda items throughout the course of their meetings. Those exchanges are documented below as they occur.
Attendance: Present were:
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Board Chair - Dennis Pavella
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Board Member - Janet Carson
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Board Member - Richard Piraino
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Board Member - Joan Windnagel
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Director - Michelle Lane
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Deputy Director - Nora McGinnis
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Office Administrator - Scott Daisher
Mr. Piraino arrived at 9:10 am, following approval of board minutes and bills.
County Representatives:
In person, from the Board of County Commissioners:
In person, from Automatic Data Processing (ADP):
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Charles E. Walder - County Auditor and Chief Administrator
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Frank Antenucci - Deputy Chief Administrator & Chief Information Security Officer
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Tracy Rahimi - Director, Department of Advanced Technology & Applications (DATA)
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Zach McLeod - Director, Department of Advanced Research and Cybersecurity (DARC)
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Rob Bushman - Advanced Security Specialist
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Josh Holtz - Security Technician
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Jeremiah Snider - IT Technician
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Joe Burli - IT Physical Security Analyst
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Andy Haines - Network Administrator
Virtually, from the County Prosecutor’s Office
Others - This LWVG Observer and Ohio Secretary of State Liaison Fiona Ruminski attended in person. One member of the public attended virtually.
Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 9:05 am.
Minutes - The May 22, 2025 and June 4, 2025 Board Minutes were approved without comment or edit. Minutes when published can be found here.
Payment of Bills - Invoices totaling $1,566.10 were reviewed and approved for payment and included:
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$900.00 to Ohio Secretary of State for the summer conference
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$407.74 to Verizon Wireless for 2 months emergency cell phone subscription
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$258.36 to Chardon Oil for fuel costs for post election equipment pick-up
Report from ADP/Auditor’s Office - Mr. Antenucci shared this information:
Secretary of State Directive 2025-29, Security of Critical Infrastructure, dated May 29, 2025 - The large contingent of ADP staff is present to participate in the Executive Session addressing security matters. He noted that all provisions of SOS Directive 2025-29 must be in place by August 29, 2025.
Elevator Camera Project - The elevator camera installation is now complete. He thanked Ms. Bevan for her support resolving the elevator camera project, which had lingered as an impediment to BOE’s move for many months. Mr. Antenucci also credited Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, who, at Mrs. Carson’s suggestion, relayed the time-sensitive nature of the project to the elevator vendor.
Fire Suppression in BOE Data Center - Noting that “water is not an approved solution,” Mr. Antenucci updated the board on plans to cap the room’s existing water supply, seal the space and install a chemical agent fire suppression system. Observer Note: A chemical agent fire suppression system uses waterless, electrically non-conductive suppressing agents to remove heat and dissolve fires at the molecular level. Learn more about the Fike FK-5-1-12 fire suppression system.
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Mr. Vernick noted the difficulty of arranging contractor work in the BOE space, given the need for bipartisan teams to monitor sensitive equipment and materials. To address this, ADP staff will temporarily relocate data center equipment to an alternate secure location.
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Mr. Vernick said that his staff will monitor the system’s gas canister and noted the new system will be tied into the existing building fire system, providing another layer of monitoring. He will also meet with the Fire Marshall.
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Everyone present expressed understanding that BOE cannot initiate their move until the water supply in the BOE data center is capped. This must happen by July 7 in order for the BOE to move to the County Office Building before the November election.
Move from 470 Center Street to Geauga County Office Building (GCOB) - Mr. Antenucci reported that if all goes to plan, ADP will move BOE’s technology and equipment July 8-10. It will take 21-28 days to set up the BOE’s systems in the new space. The remaining office contents will be moved by an outside vendor beginning on July 13. An experienced internal bipartisan BOE team will move voting equipment.
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It was informally agreed that the BOE office will need to temporarily close during the week of the move. Plans were discussed to inform the public.
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It was noted that BOE must be operational before August 6, which is the deadline to file for local issues and nonpartisan races appearing on the November 4 ballot.
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Mrs. Lane noted that once a move date is set, they will need to order documents and materials showing the new address.
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Mrs. Lane is particularly concerned about the move coinciding with a pending National Change of Address (NCOA) mailing and potential confusion for voters. Ms. Ruminski said she will follow up with the SOS to learn more about the timing.
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The group expressed concerns about voters finding the new BOE location and discussed the need for signage at the current location, along main driving routes, on the GCOB campus and within the building. Mr. Walder recommended digital signage as a means of sharing information.
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Parking capacity was discussed, with Mrs. Carson requesting additional spaces in the rear of the building, Mr. Walder suggesting additional overflow parking at the future Job and Family Services Youth Center, and Ms. Bevan citing the need to accommodate larger vehicles such as RVs. Mr. Vernick indicated he is currently working to add 50-70 additional parking spots.
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The group discussed options for notifying Geauga’s 69,000-plus registered voters of the change in BOE location.
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Mrs. Lane confirmed they will have access to cameras monitoring the front entrance so that during early voting they are able to monitor electioneering activity. Observer Note: Electioneering activity is prohibited within 100 feet of the building entrance.
At this point, Ms. Bevan, Mr. Walder and Ms. Rahimi departed.
Executive Session - At 10:07 am the board voted by roll call vote 4-0 to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing security matters under ORC 121.22(G)(6). Participants included the board members, Mrs. Lane, Mrs. McGinnis, Mr. Daisher, Ms. Rine (virtually), Mr. Vernick, Ms. Ruminski, Mr. Antenucci and the remaining ADP staff.
The board re-entered regular session and no action was taken. The remaining county representatives and Ms. Ruminski departed.
Chargebacks - The board voted unanimously to approve the chargebacks, which must be deducted from the May election grant. Mrs. Lane indicated they will be returning unused grant funds to the SOS. Observer Note: Chargebacks are the mechanism used to distribute election costs among political subdivisions.
Regional Conference - This one-day conference will be held August 8 in Mansfield, Ohio. Board members, Director and Deputy Director will attend.
Executive Session - At 11:45 am the board voted by roll call vote 4-0 to enter into executive session to consider the evaluation/compensation of a public employee under ORC 121.22(G)(1). Initial participants included Mr. Pavella, Mrs. Carson, Mrs. Windnagel, Mr. Piraino, Mrs. Lane and Mrs. McGinnis. It was later confirmed with Mrs. McGinnis that Mrs. Carson made a few brief remarks regarding the staff evaluations then exited the meeting. Mrs. Lane and Mrs. McGinnis briefly exited the executive session while the board discussed their performance but then rejoined the session.
Upon re-entering regular session, Mr. Pavella, Mrs. Windnagel and Mr. Piraino voted 3-0 to give 5% raises to full time staff and to increase part-time pay to $19/hour.
Director’s Report - Mrs. Lane reported:
Deputy Director’s Report - Mrs. McGinnis reported:
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She has been working on staff reviews, grant accounting and packing.
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She thanked the board for their support.
Public Comment: Prior to Mrs. Carson’s departure, this Observer inquired whether she had any updates about a proposal to increase county precinct size from 1,400 voters to 2,400 voters. She explained that a sub-committee of the Ohio Association of Elections Officials (OAEO) was discussing a proposal by larger county BOEs to potentially decrease poll worker expenses by having fewer voting precincts.
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She explained that BOEs are seeking cost-saving measures, as they feel fiscally constrained by unfunded General Assembly mandates such as the proposal to eliminate the Elections Commission and transfer their responsibilities to County BOEs.
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Per Mrs. Carson, smaller BOEs oppose the change, as they don’t have enough ADA-compliant larger polling sites.
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She stated many schools do not wish to have voting activity in their buildings for security reasons.
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Timing of a sub-committee vote was unclear.
The meeting adjourned at 12:47 pm.
Next Meeting: July 17, 2025 at 9:00 am. Location TBD.
Observer: Shelly Lewis
Editor: Carol Benton
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: June 18, 2025
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