Commissioners Re-Name a Portion of Osmond Road, Will Be Known as Levi Lane
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - June 9, 2026
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 9:30 am for a meeting at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. Meetings can be live streamed through the Geauga ADP Youtube channel and can be accessed here by scrolling down and clicking on the section for YouTube videos. Recordings are available for the public. This video for this meeting can be found here. As of this report’s publication date, the video has been viewed 367 times. Notations in the report refer to the minute notation on the video for a particular section. An agenda is available in advance via request to the Commissioners’ Clerk and at the meeting. Items discussed at the meeting but not on the agenda, if any, are addressed at the end of this report.
Public Comment Policy: Permitted as outlined in the BOCC’s Public Comment Policy that was adopted on January 28, 2025, revised on April 15, 2025, and again modified on September 30, 2025 and February 19, 2026.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners Carolyn Brakey, James Dvorak and Ralph Spidalieri. Also present were Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair, County Administrator Amy Bevan, Deputy County Administrator Mark Jimison and Finance Manager Adrian Gorton.
County Representatives: Debbie Ashburn, Senior Financial Specialist; Shane Hajjar, Deputy Engineer; Charles Tkach, Project Coordinator, Maintenance Department; Kathleen Miller, Fiscal Specialist, Water Resources; Max Yost, County Communications/Media Specialist.
Others in Attendance: Family of Levi Beck; Jonathan Tiber, Claridon Township Trustee; Justice Bill O'Neal (retired); River Kale, District Outreach Representative for Congressman David Joyce; Michelle Bertman, Lake Geauga Recovery CEO (Chief Executive Officer); Kerri Luckner, COO (Chief Operating Officer), Lake Geauga Recovery; Adam Litke, Health Commissioner, Geauga Public Health; members of the public, Geauga Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson; Chagrin Valley Times reporter Anastasia Nichols, and this Observer from the League of Women Voters of Geauga
9:30 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer - Commissioner Dvorak
10:54 Min. Observer Note: At this point Public Comment was scheduled to begin, and Mr. Dvorak made a motion to extend public comment to permit all eleven people who signed up to be able to speak. Mr. Spidalieri asked that they first vote on Item 2 on the Agenda, the name change of a portion of Osmond Road to Levi Lane. Reviewer Note: As reported in this cleveland.com article, Levi Beck, age 2, passed away last year due to sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC). Mr. Dvorak said he would withdraw his motion, and said, “there's a motion to go to item two right now instead of public comment first.” All three voted yes. It appeared that the audience and Mr. Spidalieri believed that Item 2 had been approved by the Commissioners at this point. There was clapping. Mr. Dvorak said, “Now, we’re at Item 2,” but Ms. Blair said “that was Item 2, now you’re going to go back to 1.” Mr. Dvorak started to go to Public Comment, and Ms. Blair said, “You need a motion to extend public comment….” Mr. Dvorak then made a motion to extend public comment to all 11 people who signed up, and this passed unanimously.
The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #26-091 to Declare a Road Name Change for a portion of Osmond Road to Levi Lane in Burton Township and Claridon Township, Geauga County, Ohio.
15:33 Min. Public Comment
Mr. Beck said “that if there are hard costs related to signs, polls, lights, things like that, we're happy to pay for that. I'm also happy to reimburse any municipalities of the county for their soft costs in terms of human capital having to spend time on this. We discussed before how important this is for our family. It's pretty meaningful for us that we continue to hear our son's name said and written and spoken as much as possible…. This is a phenomenal way for us to be able to do that. And we appreciate your guys' consideration in looking into this for us.”
Mrs. Beck spoke next: “Levi wasn't sick. He was a perfectly healthy, happy little boy. I rocked him and put him to bed like every other night. And we wake up to find our son gone. No parent should ever have to decide to bury or cremate their child before them. Our children are supposed to be there for all of our lives. We're not supposed to be there for all of their lives. I can no longer have dreams or aspirations of my son growing up, going to school, or getting married. I want Levi Lane so that my son's name can be said long after I'm gone and with him in heaven again. I cannot tell you how much this means to me and our family to honor him. Changing our street name will not help with healing as you don't heal from the loss of your child, but it will help in keeping his legacy for him since he can't do that himself. I appreciate your time and consideration more than you will ever know. Thank you. Thank you.”
Justice Bill O’Neill said: “As you know, I'm retired from the Supreme Court of Ohio, but I'm also a pediatric emergency room nurse…. Rarely does government get to do the right thing for no cost.”
A woman from Aurora (who previously lived in Newbury) said she supported the vote for the name change. She said that she had a miscarriage with her fourth child and spoke of the pain of losing a child: “I don't know the Beck family, but I do know something of them by what I have been through, for I have experienced and been a witness to similar things as they have. And I wish them and all lost parents all the support, all the love, and the healing and community there is to be had. And you've supported that and been part of that today by passing this resolution. Thank you.”
Jonathan Tiber, Claridon Township Trustee, said that every Claridon trustee was in favor of the name change. He said that it brings awareness about the sudden death of a child. He also said that he commended the Commissioners on having public comment before and after actions are taken.
Others who signed up for public comment yielded their time.
Mr. Dvorak spoke about the loss of his daughter and said, “anybody that loses a loved one or someone too early, we are in a spiritual fraternity that we are connected somehow with our loss. And before I came up with my answer this weekend, I did a lot of praying and I came up with this. It has to be absolutely a yes. So, thanks everybody for coming in.”
Mrs. Brakey acknowledged the support of the community. She said the Commissioners had received 300 emails and only 3 were against the name change. Her Facebook post about Levi Lane was the most shared post she has had with 671 shares and 429 reactions, again overwhelmingly positive.
Mr. Spidalieri said that there will be continued prayers for the family and he asked the community to continue to support this family.
Mrs. Brakey offered to pay Burton for any costs, and said that there are others who would contribute as well.
33:22 Min. Administrator’s Report - Ms. Bevan stated that she took the following actions:
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Amended the 5/29/26 hiring of a part-time shelter attendant for the Dog Warden to change the effective date to 6/15/26
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Approved a promotion of Wastewater Operator 1 for Water Resources, effective 6/7
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Approved hiring a Maintenance Worker for Water Resources, effective 6/7
9:49 Min. Report of Financials - County Finance Manager Adrian Gorton received approval for the following:
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Supplemental from the Commissioners in the General Fund for the Safety Center building maintenance account to cover a change order for an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning) contractor, Air Force One, and in the operating transfers out account to cover additional upcoming transfers.
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Incumbrance: Travel incumbrance from Common Pleas Court to attend the Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial college civil procedure by the numbers course in Columbus, Ohio
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Formal Contract Purchase Order from Water Resources to Grade Line Incorporated for the Merit Road sewer line extension project.
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Vouchers
Minutes - None submitted. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through June 9, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through December 30, 2025.
37:08 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:
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to execute the Request for Partial Payment #34 for Infinity Construction Company, Incorporated for the Geauga County Courthouse Expansion GMP Phase #1 and Phase #2 in the amount of $93,625.60.
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to advertise to hold a Public Hearing to discuss the Geauga County 2027 Tax Budget to be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at 10:00 am. Notice of this Public Hearing will be advertised on June 18, 2026, and on the county website.
Mr. Gorton said that he would like guidance before presenting the 2027 tax budget. He wanted to know their positions on what to do with budget requests, all of which could be included. He wanted to know if any equipment requests, or budget requests outside the norm, should be included.
Mrs. Brakey said she would favor no additional personnel and no employee increases beyond the 3% already agreed upon.
Mr. Spidalieri said that he wanted to talk with Mr. Gorton about some hires. He said that if it was a critical hire, he wanted to go over that with Mr. Gorton as well as some other things.
Mr. Gorton said that generally if a department has a vacant position, but they are not advertising to fill it, the position is removed. He said that he might make some modifications to the Building Improvement Fund, to make it more in line with projects that are “up to bat.”
Mr. Spidalieri said that the Building Department is currently looking for someone and wondered how that would be affected. Mr. Gorton restated his response above.
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to approve an increase to the maximum fee to be charged per case for the Prosecution of Animal Cruelty cases from $500.00 to $1,500.00 regarding Case No. 2025HT00014 (State v. 229 Hambden Street) as allowed, pursuant to O.R.C. 2931.18. Mrs. Brakey expressed surprise at the low rate of pay, which Ms. Ashburn said currently was $50/hour for in court and $40/hour for outside court. It was agreed to raise the rate to $75/hour for both in and out of court with a $1,000 maximum. Ms. Ashburn said that the $75/hour is the rate that is paid to indigent defense counsel.
46:57 Min. The County Engineer’s Office received approval for the following:
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to award the Bid to Ronyak Paving, Incorporated for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Bass Lake Road (CH-0023, Sections D-E) in Munson and Newbury Township in the amount of $667,650.00, as they represented the lowest and best bid. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project.
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to award the Bid to Ronyak Paving, Incorporated for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Bass Lake Road (CH-0023, Sections F-G) in Munson Township and the City of Chardon in the amount of $719,500.00, as they represented the lowest and best bid. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project.
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to award the Bid to Grade Line, Incorporated for the Replacement of the Bascom Road Bridge in Hambden Township in the amount of $246,071.70 as they represented the lowest and best bid. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project.
48:53 Min. The Maintenance Department received approval to execute Change Order #4 increasing the contract with 5K Commercial Roofing, LLC for the Geauga County Maintenance Barn Roof Replacement by extending the date of substantial completion by forty-six (46) days through July 31, 2026.
50:51 Min. The Department of Water Resources received approval to execute the Request for Partial Payment #12 for Shook Construction Company for the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project in the amount of $1,169,175.75, and the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) Contractor’s Estimate, and the OWDA Fund Payment Request #12 (loan #11217) in the amount of $1,169,175.75.
51:52 Min. Lake Geauga Recovery Center provided an update on the Jail Treatment and Aftercare Programs.
Ms. Bertman thanked the Commissioners for their support and said she is asking for their support again in the amount of $46,358, which is the amount requested in prior several years.
She stated that they have a 60-70% range of success which she said “beats national averages, that are usually in the 35-40% range.” She said that the population of men at the jail has remained steady but the population of females has declined.
Ms. Luckner said that they do continue treatment for individuals who end up in jail, because continuity of treatment is important. They also offer the opportunity to begin treatment in jail, offering assessments and group work as well as a treatment plan. She stated: “Our counselors and peer supporters also do work on discharge planning so that we can connect the inmates to aftercare options that might be residential or it could be group in the community.“ She added that they also help out of county inmates connect to treatment in the county where they are released.
Mrs. Brakey had some process-related comments. She said that they didn’t get advance notice of the amount of the “ask.” She also said that they have opiate settlement money and perhaps that should be used.
Mr. Gorton said that they have used the Opiate Settlement Fund.
Mrs. Brakey said that if they are using the Opiate Settlement Fund, they should go through the process established for this fund.
Ms. Blair said that the Jail Treatment program was in place before the Opiate Settlement Fund and that is the reason why it comes through outside the process for that Fund. Mrs Brakey said she thought it could go with the rest of the process.
Mr. Spidalieri said this has been a great program. He said, “you know it's just been a really, really great program. I've talked to the sheriff about this so many times, and just the success that's come out of this. And I believe, you know, to be honest with you… I keep seeing it every year like how is it that you guys could do it for $46,000, to be able to manage what you're doing because it's an incredible undertaking and the followup is just second to none.”
A motion was made and approved unanimously to pay the amount requested, $46,358, from the Opiate Settlement Fund.
1:02:31 Min. Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:
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to execute Resolution #26-092 Fifth Amendment, Approving the use of County Credit Cards for the Year 2026 for Agencies and Cardholders to add an additional card for the Department on Aging (Wright Express – WEX card – fuel) and to add and remove users for the Department of Job and Family Services (Wright Express), pursuant to O.R.C. 301.27.
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to execute the Applications for Authorization for the use of County Credit Cards forms for the Year 2026, per O.R.C. 301.27 for the Department on Aging (WEX card) and the Department of Job and Family Services (additional employees).
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to execute the Certification Request to County Auditor, Request to Board of Commissioners Quarterly Use of County Credit Cards, pursuant to O.R.C. 301.27 for the Year 2026 (Quarters 2, 3 and 4) for the Department on Aging (WEX card and revision to decrease the Centerra Co-op).
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to authorize County Administrator Amy Bevan to execute the proposal for Upward Solutions Coaching and Consulting to provide three months of teamwork training for Department Directors and Office Staff. Ms. Bevan discussed her request as follows: “I looked across the staff which encompasses nine BOCC support staff and eight directors and I found that there's been no structured staff development of any kind in over 20 years. I do have it set up in three phases. The first two phases are $6,500 each. The first phase is communication and collaboration. The second phase is productive conflict and accountability. And then the third phase is basically resilience, leadership resilience and adaptability.” She said that she wanted to re-assess after each phase.
1:10:57 Min. Board Discussion – Mr. Yost discussed the America’s 250 Tree. He said that this is part of America 250 and that every county gets a free tree, which is a white oak. He said that Carmella Shale, the Director of Geauga Soil and Water, felt that Century Village would be a good location to plant this tree. There was discussion about whether the tree planting could be done in conjunction with an event at Century Village but not until fall. It was decided that more information was needed before a decision could be made.
113:46 Min. Public Comment
This Observer asked for clarification about the vote that was taken earlier to change the name of part of Osmond Road to Levi Lane.
Adam Litke, Geauga (and Lake County) Health Commissioner spoke about an escalating issue with hoarding. He said that these cases are generally older individuals with no family and suspected mental health issues. He said that there are problems for fire departments to safely access these homes. He said that Geauga Public Health is interested in working with HDAC (Health District Advisory Council) on a possible solution and he has reached out to Mrs. Brakey (President of HDAC). Observer Note: See information about HDAC here. Ms. Bevan said that she and Adam (Mr. Litke) have spoken about how departments under the Commissioners hiring authority such as Department of Aging, law enforcement and JFS (Job and Family Services) could assist Geauga Public Health..
Mr. Litke said the cases arise once or twice a week whereas it was once a year in the past.
Mrs. Brakey asked how many houses are in this situation, and Mr. Litke said it was “hundreds of properties.”
1:22:43 Min. Meeting adjourned at 10:42 am
Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.
Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next Regular Meeting of the BOCC after this meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Other meetings coming up in June will be at 9:30 am on Tuesdays, June 23 and June 30, 2026.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: June 21, 2026
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