BOCC Rejects ADP Union Contract
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - October 6, 2026
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 9:30 am at Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. BOCC 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 meeting can be found here. As of this report’s publication date, the video has been viewed 377 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 24, 2026.
Attendance: Present were Commissioners Carolyn Brakey, Ralph Spidalieri and James Dvorak. Also present were Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair, Finance Manager Adrian Gorton, County Administrator Amy Bevan, Deputy County Administrator Mark Jimison, and Joseph Rice, Communications/Media Specialist.
County Representatives: Jessica Boalt, Director, Office on Aging; Carrie Loy, Bainbridge Senior Center; Krystal Thompson, Director, Geauga Law Library; Shane Hajjar, Deputy Engineer; Nick Gorris, Director, Water Resources; Craig Swenson, Executive Director, Job and Family Services (JFS)
Others in Attendance: Vicki Clark, Consultant for Ravenwood Health; Paul Boleno, CEO, Ravenwood Health; Lee Imhof, Economic Development Committee; Geauga Growth Partnership; Kimm Leininger, President & CEO, Geauga Growth Partnership; Gina Hofstetter, Director, Community and Economic Development; Adam Litke, Geauga and Lake County Health Commissioner; Rob Weigle, Director, Maintenance; Ben Young, Chardon City Manager; Geauga Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson; Chagrin Valley Times reporter Anastasia Nicholas; other members of the public and this LWVG Observer.
1:25 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer (Commissioner Dvorak)
2:08 Min. Public Comment on Agenda Items - None
2:25 Min. - Minutes for the April 7, 2026 meeting were approved without discussion. This was hard to hear but this Observer confirmed that they were in fact approved at this point in the meeting. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through October 6, 2026, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through March 10, 2026.
3:06 Min. The Department on Aging received approval to execute Resolution #26-153 Honoring Linda Baker for her outstanding Volunteer Service and Contribution to the America 250 Celebration for Geauga County. Ms. Baker has taught diamond art at the Bainbridge Senior Center. Director Boalt presented information about the diamond art produced by Ms. Baker which honors First Responders in Geauga County and other places. Diamond art uses hundreds of tiny beads to produce a beautiful image that is then framed and presented to First Responders or the families of deceased veterans, police officers and others. She also donated an America 250 work to the Commissioners. That piece contains 53,361 beads. Ms. Baker also spoke about her process and those who have received plaques.
13:58 Min. The Law Library received approval for a supplemental appropriation from the General Fund in the amount of $24,000.00 to offset the decrease in revenue and the increase in the annual cost of Westlaw for the Common Pleas Court, Probate/Juvenile Court, Municipal Court, Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.
Mrs. Brakey questioned Ms. Thompson about their process for choosing Westlaw. Ms. Thompson said that they had decided to consolidate into one account. They deleted accounts that were not being used. She said that they still have to pay on the remainder of the LexisNexus account and then they would be saving money through the consolidation. Observer Note: These two providers are the two available companies for legal searches.
18:07 Min. Report of Financials - County Finance Manager Adrian Gorton received approval for the following:
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Cash transfer from the Commissioners’ miscellaneous operating transfer-out account to the Law Library.
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Travel encumbrances from the Auditor's Office to attend the 2026 State Employee Relations Board Academy in Dublin, Ohio, from the Public Defender to attend the 2026 County Public Defender Summit in Columbus, Ohio and from the Treasurer to attend the 2026 County Treasurer Ohio Fall Conference, also in Columbus, Ohio.
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Vouchers
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$104,105 from the Commissioners’ Office to Ravenwood Mental Health Center for the fourth quarter 2026 Youth Center operations.
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$338,529.56 from the Engineer’s office to Ronyak Paving Incorporated for payment application number one of the asphalt resurfacing of Bass Lake Road.
19:14 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval for an increase to the Engagement Agreement with Mazanec, Raskin and Ryder L.P.A. for representation concerning the defense of the mandamus and procedendo actions pending in the Eleventh District Court of Appeals to wit: State of Ohio ex rel. Judge Timothy Grendell v. Geauga County Board of Commissioners et al., case number 25G0028 pursuant to O.R.C. 309.09 (C) in the amount of $5,000.00, for a new not to exceed amount of $30,000.00, without prior approval by the Board. Observer Note: The Commissioners voted not to approve Judge Grendell’s request for $300,000 in legal fees in January, 2025. See Geauga Maple Leaf report from July 8, 2026 here for more information.
20:25 Min. The County Engineer’s Office received approval to authorize Carolyn Brakey, board member and Chief Executive Officer, to execute the Ohio Public Works Commission, Appendix E –Disbursement Request Form and Certification #1 in order to release funds from the state portion of the OPWC grant for the Asphalt Resurfacing of Bass Lake Road (Sections F-G) in Munson Township, in the amount of $193,723.00.
21:23 Min. Ravenwood Health requested Board approval for financial assistance in the amount of $25,000.00 for the replacement of the pavement project for the parking lot entrances located at 12555 and 12557 Ravenwood Drive, Chardon. The total cost of this part of the repaving project is $76,220.00. There was a discussion about the extent of use of these driveways by county entities, such as the Veterans Services Commission, Office on Aging and and Water Resources. Mr. Gorris said that mostly they have pickup trucks going back and forth every day. Ms. Clark and Mr. Bolino said that the total project will cost $161,000 and that Ravenwood would fund everything except for the requested $25,000 from the County. Ms. Bevan said that she wanted to know if the majority of the Board is interested in contributing. Mrs. Brakey said she was interested in hearing more from the Prosecutor about the request. Mr. Dvorak said he was fine with the request and fine with having the Prosecutor reviewing it. Request Tabled.
28:21 Min. The Department on Aging received approval to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging Provider Agreement with Geauga County Department on Aging for Alzheimer’s Respite for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, in the amount of $52,179.00. This work is being funded (with no local match required) through the State of Ohio. There are also funds available through the Federal Older Americans Act, but they use the State funds first. Ms. Boalt said that this program is for adults at the Chesterland location. She said that it benefits 30 individuals with Alzheimer's, but it also benefits the caretakers/families as well.
31:02 Min. The Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) received approval to hire Carly Spencer to the position of Program Administrator of the Ohio Means Jobs program to be effective October 26, 2026, at the rate of $38.70 per hour with a nine-month probationary period. This offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of the required pre-employment conditions. Mr. Swenson said that this employee will be starting above base rate due to her level of experience. He also said that the State of Ohio will fund 90% of this position. Mr. Swenson also stated that JFS has their own Human Resources department that oversees their hiring process.
Mrs. Brakey asked whether Geauga County had been impacted by cuts to SNAP (food assistance). Mr. Swenson said that Geauga has not been impacted since their error rate is well below the requirement. He said that Ohio’s error rate is also below the requirement. He said they have seen an increase in applications. Mrs. Brakey asked if they anticipate a decrease in funding and Mr. Swenson said “we are minimally funded as it is.”
35:58 Min. The Department of Water Resources received approval to execute Contract Maintenance Form #1, increasing the service Contract Agreement and acknowledging a change of address form, with Cleveland Tree and Stump in the amount of $10,000.00 (Wastewater) for a new not to exceed total contract amount of $35,000.00.
37:06 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval for the following:
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to execute Resolution #26-155 Establishing the Location and Time to Reconvene the regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. for the America’s 250 Heritage Tree Dedication. This will take place in front of the Sheriff’s Office. There is an entrance from Merritt Road, off Route 44. This location is also accessible from Ravenwood Drive.
Mr. Rice explained that the funding for this comes from the America 250 Heritage Tree Commission and that Geauga would be planting a white oak.
Mr. Rice explained several options in materials and demonstrated the different appearance options. He said he recommended removing the word County in one place since the name Geauga County is unique in Ohio and “in the world.” Observer Note: Geauga was established in 1806 as the second county in the Reserve. Geauga takes its name from “Sheauga Sepe,” the Native American name for the Grand River, meaning “Raccoon River.” See more information through Geauga Archives here.
44:02 Min. ADP Collective Bargaining Agreement: The Commissioners’ Office requested the Board approve and execute Resolution #26-156 to Ratify or Reject the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Geauga County Automatic Data Processing Board and AFSCME Ohio Council 8, AFL-CIO and Local_____ (to be completed later in the process). The BOCC voted not to ratify the agreement.
Ms. Bevan reviewed the statutory authority of the Board of Commissioners to review and then approve or reject this contract. Ms. Bevan cited Ohio Revised Code 4117.10B. Mr. Jimison recommended that the Commissioners reject the Agreement, citing insufficient involvement of the BOCC in discussions and insufficient time to review the fiscal implications.
Both Mrs. Brakey and Mr. Dvorak praised the ADP staff and employees.
It was noted that there was no requirement for the Commissioners to be present during negotiations.
Mr. Spidalieri said that this contract was part of a 10-15 minute Executive Session with ADP at which the contract was discussed. He said that he had voted no. Observer Note: See the LWVG Observer Report on the September 10, 2026 ADP Meeting for information about this Executive Session.
Observer Note: In a separate email to this Observer and other news outlets, Mr. Antenucci stated that Mr. Spidalieri (as the BOCC representative to the ADP Board) “had participated in multiple ADP executive sessions where the Board was updated on the negotiations as they progressed.” He also stated “More importantly, before the ADP Board approved the agreement, we spent roughly 45 minutes in executive session going through the tentative agreement in substantial detail.” Mr. Spidalieri was reportedly present at that meeting. Mr. Antenucci also stated that “to my knowledge, no County Commissioner reached out to me in my capacity as ADP’s management representative for additional information before taking this action. I was not invited to participate in any executive session the Commissioners may have held concerning the agreement, nor was I asked to answer questions or provide additional context regarding the negotiations.” ADP held a Special Meeting on October 8 at which no action was taken after an Executive Session; see the LWVG Observer Report on this meeting here. At that meeting it was announced that ADP would hold another Special Meeting on October 15. At the October 15 ADP meeting, again no action was taken after the Executive Session; see the LWVG Observer Report on this meeting here.
The BOCC voted unanimously to reject the contract. Mr. Dvorak stated that he wanted to “clean up the process” to establish BOCC procedures for reviewing negotiations for union bargaining. He said that he hoped “to have it buttoned up within 30-45 days.”
Board Discussion
Geauga Growth Partnership (GGP) Proposal - This proposal was for collaboration between Geauga Growth Partnership and the county’s Community and Economic Development (CED) Department. It was reported that the Cleveland Foundation had awarded a grant of $225,000 over the next three years. For information about GGP, see their website here.
Ms. Leininger, CEO of GGP, stated that this was not an effort to “take over CED,” because each has different tools available for economic development. She said that in the next 90 days, they will be building a structure to begin the work and she would like the county to be represented.
She said she had three “asks” for the Commissioners as follows:
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consideration of appointing a designated individual, perhaps a county administrator or deputy county administrator or another appropriate county representative, to participate in an economic development operating system.
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consideration of connecting the two planning processes (the GGP process and the county's community and economic development process) together.
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after the first 90 days, clear expectations and alignment around responsibilities should be developed to determine who leads what aspects of economic development.
Ms. Leininger said they will be studying the people, partnerships, process and data involved in determining how to encourage business retention and advancement. There are seven areas they will study:
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Sites, Property and Infrastructure
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Business Resource Income (BRI)
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Finances, including incentives and grants
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Workforce and talent
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Entrepreneurship, innovation and small businesses
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Tourism
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Strategy, Data, Marketing and Accountability
Ms. Bevan said that if there was a majority of the Board interested in this proposal, she would reach out to the Prosecutor’s Office for legal review.
Mr. Imhoff said that they are not looking for money but noted that, with their 240 members, they have their fingers on the pulse of Geauga County. He also said that at one time Geauga County was a member.
Mr. Spidalieri asked who would be representing the county in meetings. He spoke in favor of being part of a collaborative effort. He concluded that, “I would be happy to do it (represent the county)” and acknowledged that any decisions would be brought back to the BOCC. Mr. Dvorak said he was “fine with that.”
Ms. Leininger said she would reach out to Mr. Spidalieri to schedule a meeting.
1:13 Min. Century Village Museum - Ms. Bevan said that she received an email from Tony Perino (Century Village Museum) about working together. Observer Note: Ms. Bevan did not elaborate on Mr. Perino’s role at Century Village. There was a discussion on whether the county could contribute to Century Village since the county has authority to contribute to a Historical Society (Ohio Revised Code 307.23). It was stated that they did contribute in 2006 ($35,000), 2010 ($28,000) and $20,000 each year between 2011-2015.
It was suggested to have a working session on October 27 to discuss this. Mrs. Brakey said that she thought there was value in having this discussion at a public session and noted that working sessions are not recorded.
Mr. Spidalieri said that he thought there was value in contributing since Century Village hosts so many events.
1:21:26 Min. Public Comment
An individual from South Russell asked about NOACA (Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency) and then asked why the ”Amish have to give $100,000 a year.” Mr. Spidalieri explained that there is no expectation that the Amish contribute to the roads in their area but since they don’t pay gas tax and the wheels on buggies can cause damage to striping and roads, that they voluntarily make this contribution every year.
An individual who said he was a member of Geauga Growth Partnership said that he thought that the two groups would be stronger working together.
1:27 Min. - Meeting adjourned at approximately 11:00 am
Next Meeting: The next Regular meeting will be on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The meeting was moved to Thursday due to the Columbus Day holiday on Monday. This meeting will be held at 9:30 am at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. The meeting will continue, after a recess, for the Americas 250 Heritage Tree Dedication at 1:00 pm outside the Sheriff’s office at the corner of Ravenna (Route 44) and Merritt Roads.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: October 12, 2026
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