Geauga County Health District Advisory Council - June 14, 2023
Meeting Details: The HDAC met in Special Session on June 14, 2023 at 6:00 pm at the County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room 303B, Chardon, OH 44024. An agenda was provided in advance and included public comment. This meeting was in-person only. Observer Comment: The air conditioning system in this room is very noisy, which made it difficult to hear the discussions.
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Chris Alusheff at 6:00 pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Roll Call: Secretary Mike Brown called the roll, noting 8 of 22 council members present as noted below. A quorum was not attained. It was clarified that no business could be conducted.
HDAC Members Attending - 8
Aquilla Village - Chris Alusheff
Burton Village - Ruth Spanos
Chardon Twp - Mike Brown
Claridon Twp - Jon Tiber
Hambden Twp - Pam Carson
Newbury Twp - Bill Skomrock
Parkman Twp - Henry Duchscherer
S. Russell Village - William Koons
HDAC Members Absent - 14
County Commissioner - Tim Lennon
Auburn Twp - PJ Cavanaugh
Bainbridge Twp - Michael Bates
Burton Twp - Dan Whiting
Chardon City - Christopher Grau
Chester Twp - Kevin Radtke
Huntsburg Twp - Jason Sutter
Middlefield Twp - Paul Porter
Middlefield Village - Ben Garlich
Montville Twp - Randy Peterson
Munson Twp - Jim McCaskey
Russell Twp - Jim Mueller
Thompson Twp - Erwin Leffel
Troy Twp - Sharon Simm
GPH Board and Staff: Attendees included board members Dr. Ashley Jones and Dr. Mark Hendrickson; Staff included Administrator Adam Litke and Health Commissioner Ron Graham
Minutes - unable to consider minutes from the March 15, 2023 meeting due to a lack of quorum.
Background: On March 15, 2023 GPH entered into a cross jurisdictional agreement with Lake County General Health District (LCGHD) to serve as a staffing agency for GPH. The five-year agreement went into effect April 3, 2023 and may be terminated either unilaterally or by either party with two-years notice. GPH will retain control and set policies. Adam Litke will serve as Administrator and Ron Graham will serve as Health Commissioner. See March 15, 2023 LWVG Observer Report for more information.
Update: Commissioner Graham: Mr. Graham spoke briefly about the cost of accreditation, which he characterized as an unfunded state mandate that costs $80,000 every 3 years. He said the timing is supposed to be every 5 years. The reason for the timing difference was unclear to this observer. It was noted that Geauga receives very little funding from the state due to its relative wealth.
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Mr. Koons (S. Russell Village) inquired about the status of former GPH employees. Mr. Litke stated there were 23 employees at the time of the agreement. All were offered positions and 16 or 17 accepted new positions with LCGHD.
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Mr. Tiber (Claridon Twp) asked about the benefits of accreditation. Mr. Graham responded that there really aren’t any. He said it is costly to perform the health assessment and collect data and described the process as a poor return on investment.
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Mr. Brown (Chester Twp) stated that he opposes big government and was not happy with what he perceives to be the loss of Geauga’s Health Department. In the event of another pandemic, he is concerned decisions will be made by Lake County. Mr. Litke clarified that the GPH Board makes decisions for Geauga County. He also stated that the agreement did not result in a merger of the two health departments.
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Mr. Tiber commented that he had never been an opponent of the agreement but objected to the “complete lack of transparency.” At the time, he was president of HDAC and knew nothing about this.
Update: Administrator Litke: (See May 24, 2023 LWVG Observer Report for more details about many of the topics reported here).
Mr. Litke reported that GPH is fully staffed. Most staff received pay raises and more time off. They are making progress replacing Parkman wells that were contaminated by ODOT salt dome. Regarding the HB110 program, they found that inspections were not being performed dating back to 2010.
Mr. Litke continued, stating that they are beginning to roll out the Operation & Maintenance inspection program. He said there are 30,000 to 40,000 septic systems in Geauga. He mentioned the Punderson Lake community, whose 50-year old homes are on septic. They are going to begin meetings with Realtors and then will offer township meetings to educate the public about the O&M program.
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Mr. Skomrock (Newbury Twp) inquired what would happen if faulty systems were identified? Mr. Litke stated that the goal is not to install sewers but said some smaller lots don’t even have room for a septic system.
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Mr. Brown opined that most septic systems can be repaired.
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Mr. Koons inquired about the financial impact of the HB110 situation and Mr. Litke reported the amount to be refunded will exceed $700,000.
Mr. Litke continued, reporting that GPH had corrected the Camp Inspection Program, partnered with DDC Clinic in Middlefield to provide immunizations to the Amish community and established a nuisance complaint process.
He shared that 58 cases of pertussis had been reported.
He noted that the board had opted to pursue a levy. Dr. Hendrickson added that the levy is a renewal of the 0.2 mill operating levy and that the board is discussing whether to place the levy on the ballot in November, 2023 or May 2024. Reviewer Note: GPH received preliminary approval from the Board of County Commissioners to place the levy on the ballot. See July 18 report of LWVG.
Public Comment: this Observer made 4 inquiries. Responses are reflected below.
Regarding his opposition to accreditation, Mr. Graham clarified that it wasn’t the 3 year vs 5 year timing he objected to. He believes accreditation should be voluntary vs mandated, given that it is an unfunded cost to local health departments.
Mr. Graham clarified that his title is “Health Commissioner” without any references to Lake County or Geauga County.
Mr. Graham indicated he would prepare and share information about the asserted cost savings generated by the cross jurisdictional agreement.
Mr. Litke stated that community meetings relating to the O&M program would begin in the fall.
Adjournment: not noted
Next Meeting: September 13, 2023 at 6 pm (quarterly, on 2nd Wednesday)
Observer: Shelly Lewis
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
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