Adam Litke Promoted to Health Commissioner;
Hunan by the Falls to Have Public Hearing on April 2, 2026
Geauga Public Health (GPH) – March 18, 2026
Meeting Details: The GPH Board met in Regular Session at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168 (first floor), Chardon, OH, on March 18, 2026. The meeting began at 5:00 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 for this meeting can be found here.
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:
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Dr. Mark Hendrickson, Elected President at this meeting
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Melissa DeBoth
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Daniel Green, Jr
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Lynn Roman
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Christine Sutter, Elected President Pro Tempore at this meeting
Staff Attendance:
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Adam Litke, Administrator and Health Commissioner
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Dan Lark, Director of Environmental Health
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Katie Taylor, Finance Director
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Cady Stromp, Environmental Health Specialist
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Paul Stromp, Sanitarian
Others Present: Hunan By the Falls Owner Aileen Chan, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson, and this LWVG Observer were present.
Before the meeting began, Dr. Hendrickson read the names of military members who were killed in recent actions in Iran in remembrance of their service.
Call to Order: Called to order at 5:01 pm.
Opening of Meeting - The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A quorum was declared, as was a Certification of the Delivery of Official notices of meeting.
Minutes – Minutes of the Regular Meeting February 18, 2026, were approved unanimously. The minutes are available here.
Election of Board of Health President and President Pro Tempore
The Board elected Dr. Mark Hendrickson as President and Ms. Christine Sutter as President Pro Tempore
Discussion of Food License for Hunan by the Falls, 508 E. Washington Street, Chagrin Falls OH 44022
Mr. Lark opened this discussion by saying that the Board would not be voting that night on a suspension or revocation of the License, which had been Item 6.02.03 on the Agenda. He said that due to a Request to Appeal that was filed on behalf of the owner, there is a requirement of a public hearing. In order to fulfill the time restraints of the appeal and accommodate the attorney for Hunan, Bridey Matheney from the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan, the hearing was set for Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 5 pm. The hearing will be open to the public. There was a presentation of inspections and findings by Geauga Public Health Inspectors Cady and Paul Stromp. The packet included 11 inspection reports, photos, applicable law and procedure 3717.49 ORC (Ohio Revised Code) and Rule 3701-21-26 (Ohio Administrative Code) and copies of letters sent to Hunan. Mrs. Stromp reviewed the reports, highlighting the “critical vs. noncritical violations.” She defined critical violations as those that could result in sickness for the public, while the noncritical violations would be more structural including some aspects of cleaning. The timeline was reviewed, which included a license suspension in November 2025 and then re-inspections in December 2025. At the December 17, 2025 GPH Board meeting, it was decided to allow Hunan one month to remove violations. Mrs. Stomp said that in January there was one critical and one noncritical violation. At the February 26 inspection, there were nine critical violations and five noncritical violations. Several of these concerned not using proper temperature controls or not heating or reheating food to the proper temperature.
Board members expressed concern about what could be done between this meeting and the public
hearing. It was determined that there was nothing else that GPH could do before the public hearing.
Resolutions
Financial Reports, Resolution 26-03-06-01 - Approved
The Financial report was not discussed and there were no questions.
The board packet has a list of payments, and a comparison of expenses and revenue for various funds. Observer Note: The Financial Statements do not show any payments to Lake County for the Cross Jurisdictional Agreement.
Notes to Financial Statements - from the Board packet:
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Notes on Chart 1 - As of February 28, 2026, the year is 16.67% complete. This percentage is a point of reference for what percentage of revenue and expense a person might expect to see received/expensed at this point in the year.
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REVENUE: With February being the second month, revenues are underestimated budgets.
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EXPENSES: This is the second month of the year, and expenses are under budget in part due to the timing of invoice payments. GPH continues to work with the Geauga County Auditor’s office to continue payment of invoices to the Lake County General Health District.
Permission to Approve Appropriations for Increase/Decrease - Approved
Mr. Litke said that anyone can ask any Bureau of Vital Statistics for a death certificate from anywhere in the State. He said that because Geauga does such a good job, they are underbudgeted for this service.
Permission to Change the Date of the May Board Meeting - Approved
The new meeting date will be May 13, 2026
Director’s Report - a few of the notes in the Board packet were:
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March 8-14 is National Groundwater Awareness Week. Geauga Public Health has partnered with Geauga Water & Soil in presenting an educational training on the importance of maintaining and testing water wells to Geauga residents with private water wells.
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The Geauga sewage team has finished the 2025 HB110 required inspections that were due by March 1, 2026, and submitted that report to Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is a long-term requirement. See EPA description here. GPH has implemented new procedures. See LWVGeauga Observer Report for March 2, 2023.
Health District Staff Reports
Observer Note: These reports are available with the Agenda on the Geauga Public Health (GPH) website. See March Agenda here. Scroll through the Agenda to see the written reports.
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Population Health Report - Mr. Litke said there were no updates (to the items in the Board packet). He was asked which nurse had left, and he said it was the Nursing Director who left but another employee (Heather DiCioccio, RN) is now the Nursing Director.
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Environmental Health Report – No additional updates noted. Mr. Lark was asked about the McDonald’s in Bainbridge, and he said that they had had a fire, but not new violations. He noted that a year and a half ago they had shut down the McDonalds but they “have cleaned up their act.”
The following is a list of inspections listed in the Board packet:
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Private Water Systems (wells) - 3
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Camps - 0
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Swimming Pools/Spas - 0
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*Food - 79
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Sewage Systems - 10
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For Sale of Property - 0
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HB 110 (Semi-Public) Systems - 8
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Operation and Maintenance Samples - 85
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Plumbing - 47
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Schools - 0
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Jails - 0
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Tattoo & Body Piercing - 0
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Nuisance Complaints - 0
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Solid Waste - 0
*Includes routine inspections, reinspections, mobiles, temporaries, plan reviews, pre-licensing inspections, food-related nuisance complaints, and consultations.
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Health Commissioner’s Report –In response to a question at the end of the meeting, Mr. Litke said that he was the Health Commissioner. He said he was appointed by the Lake County Public Health Board in February. No minutes have been published for the Lake County Public Health Board for their February meeting. Once published, they will be available here. Observer Note: The Health Commissioner for Lake County is also the Health Commissioner for Geauga County according to the Cross Jurisdictional Agreement between Lake County and Geauga County that was originally signed in March 2023. See Geauga Maple Leaf article here for additional information. Mr. Litke has held the position of Administrator of Geauga Public Health. The Agenda shows both a Report of Administrator and Report of Health Commissioner (with no names attached). According to the staff list for Lake County Public Health, Mr. Litke is also responsible for Finance and HR for Lake County Public Health.
The report in the Board packet stated:
1. 2025 Hinkle Statements
a. The 2025 Hinkle submission was completed. This documentation will not be audited until around 2027. This lag is due to the Health Department being on a 2-year audit cycle. The last audit period was calendar years 2023 and 2024. The next audit cycle will be calendar years 2025 and 2026. The determination to have a 2-year audit cycle is based on the amount of federal dollars that the agency expends during each year.
2. Health District Advisory Council (HDAC)
a. The HDAC met on March 11, 2026 at 7:00 pm. The HDAC appointed a new Board of Public Health member, Mr. Daniel Green, Jr. Reviewer Note: The LWVG Observer Report on the HDAC meeting is available here.
b. The HDAC reviewed the proposed 2027 budget and had no modifications requested.
c. The HDAC was informed that if property taxes are eliminated, the funding model for health departments would default to the political subdivisions and then the County Commissioners.
d. Mrs. Carolyn Brakey was appointed as the Chair of the HDAC, succeeding Mr. Jason Sutter. Mr. Michael Brown was reappointed as secretary.
Mrs. Roman asked about the “Hinkle” reference in the Board packet. Mr. Litke said it is a way of preserving information for a future audit.
Old Business - No Old Business
New Business - moved to earlier in the Agenda
Citizens’ Remarks
This Observer asked for the spelling of Cady and Paul Stromp. Also, this Observer noted that the Health Commissioner had not been attending meetings, and Mr. Litke said that Mr. Graham had resigned as Health Commissioner to take an open position as Director of WIC (Women, Infant and Children) program. Mr. Litke said that he had been appointed as Health Commissioner as of February 1, 2026.
Ms. Aileen Chan wanted to speak to the violations listed on the February 2026 Inspection Report. Mr. Litke said that it would be advisable for her to wait until the hearing when her attorney would be present. Ms. Chan asked repeatedly if she would have a chance to address the violations. Mr. Lark said that her attorney would be working with her.
Executive Session – None
Adjourned – The meeting adjourned at 5:43 pm.
Next Regular Meeting: April 22, 2026, at 5:00 pm. All meetings are held at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B 167-168, Chardon, OH.
Special Meeting: April 2, 2026 at 5:00 pm at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B 167-168, Chardon, OH.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Submission Date: March 25, 2026
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