Commissioners Willing to Consider Future Action on Expanded Homestead Rebate and/or Owner-Occupied Property Tax Credit
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - May 28 , 2026
Meeting Details: The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met in Regular Session on Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 9:30 am for a meeting at the Geauga County Office Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, OH. This meeting was held on Thursday due to the Monday Memorial Day Holiday. 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 268 times. The video for this meeting can be found here. 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: Katie Williams, Conservation Education Coordinator, Geauga Soil and Water; Ric Blamer, Geauga County Airport Manager; Christopher Schloss, President, Geauga County Airport; Shane Hajjar, Deputy Engineer; Dan Spada, Director, Building Department; Matt Granito, Dog Warden; Craig Swenson, Executive Director, Job and Family Services (JFS); Christina Miller, Adult Protective Social Worker, JFS; Gina Schultz, Social Services Director, JFS; Charles Tkach, Project Coordinator, Maintenance Department; Nick Gorris, Director, Water Resources; Max Yost, County Communications/Media Specialist.
Others in Attendance: Carmella Shale, Director, Geauga Soil and Water Commission; members of the public, and a reporter from the Geauga Maple Leaf. This Observer from the League of Women Voters of Geauga attended virtually. Observer Note: Other members of the public might have attended, but were not visible on the video.
8:13 Min. Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer - Commissioner Dvorak
8:58 Min Public Comment - no comment
Administrator’s Report - Ms. Bevan stated that she took the following actions:
9:49 Min. Report of Financials - County Finance Manager Adrian Gorton received approval for the following:
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Supplementals
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Contract increase from Commissioners to AGP Office Furnishings for change order number one of the courthouse extension furnishings and equipment contract that was originally approved on December 9th, 2025. Mr. Gorton said there were two increases going through at the same time and one went through and one didn’t so they are now completing the process.
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Encumbrances: For travel for the Engineer, Public Defender, and Veteran’s Office
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Vouchers
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$102,614.86 the Commissioners to Ohio Paving and Construction for the Safety Center parking lot (partial payment from the $250,000 one-time strategic community investments grant that was obtained from the State by Community Development for this project)
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$117,833.10 from the Prosecutor to Millstone Management for partial payment on their office remodel and security upgrades
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Revenue certification for Water Resources in their sewer operating fund for unbudgeted penalty and fees received.
Mrs. Brakey asked about the Supplemental for the Opioid Fund. Mr. Gorton said that a drug detection device was used at the Geauga Fair last year. He said that appropriations were set aside but were not used. He said he is getting ready for when everything is in order.
Minutes - None submitted. Observer Note: Weekly LWVG Observer Reports for the BOCC are available online through May 28, 2026 for informational purposes but are not substitutes for approved minutes. Approved BOCC Minutes are posted online here through December 30, 2025.
12:40 Min. The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolutions recognizing the Four Schools from Geauga County that had Teams who participated in the 2026 Northeast Ohio High School Area II Envirothon including:
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Resolution #26-077 Recognizing the Berkshire High School Team A
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Resolution #26-078 Recognizing the Cardinal High School Team Dirt
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Resolution #26-079 Recognizing the Cardinal High School Tree Team
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Resolution #26-080 Recognizing the Cardinal High School Team Fungi
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Resolution #26-081 Recognizing the Chardon High School Team Black
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Resolution #26-082 Recognizing the Chardon High School Team Red
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Resolution #26-083 Recognizing the West Geauga High School Team Eco Wolves who placed first overall and first at the forestry station and wildlife station and advanced to the Ohio Envirothon
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Resolution #26-084 Recognizing the West Geauga High School Team Green Claws who placed second overall and first at the aquatics station and advanced to the Ohio Envirothon
The Geauga County Soil and Water Conservation District presented information about the event and introduced students and advisors in attendance from the Geauga County School Teams that participated in the 2026 Northeast Ohio High School Area II Envirothon.
Ms. Williams, Conservation Education Coordinator for Geauga Soil and Water, explained the Envirothon as follows: “Envirothon is an environmental competition- the students go around to five different stations. There's a current environmental theme every year. Basically they're tested. They're in the soil identifying soil. They're at the aquatic station identifying macro invertebrates. It's very hands-on. It's very team building. It puts them in contact with a lot of resource professionals.” She thanked Commissioner Brakey for attending in bad weather. Ms. Williams said that, “it's one of the only programs that really really hit the 9th through 12th grade audience in the school.” She also talked about a program, “Soil your Undies,” in which you bury a pair of cotton underwear. If the soil is healthy, after 40 days the underwear almost completely disappears while with less healthy soil more will remain.
She said that two teams will be advancing to State for the Envirothon.
Another program Ms. Williams described is called Planting the Seed to Read. She said, “It's a book that basically talks about farm to table and all aspects of it, and it's great because it hits on maple syrup which we are huge here on. It talks about nutrients that plants need. Every single kindergartener in Geauga County gets the book, gets a program and activity, and they get an apple from Sages or Patterson's fruit farm.” Observer Note: See video at 22:18 Min for a photo of the Envirothon winners.
23:40 Min. The Airport Authority received approval for the following Resolutions which cover the same project:
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to execute Resolution #26-085 Approving the Grant Contract under Fiscal Year 2026 Ohio Airport Improvement Program Matching Grant for General Aviation Airports between the Geauga County Airport Authority, Geauga County Board of Commissioners, and the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation, to Construct T-Hangar 59’x 218’ ODOT Project No. B26-61 at the Geauga County Airport and Authorizing the President of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners to execute the Grant Contract on the Board’s behalf. This motion was approved on May 12, 2026, pending Prosecutor approval of the Grant Contract.
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to execute the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation, Grant Contract under FY2026 Ohio Airport Improvement Program Matching Grant for General Aviation Airports between the Geauga County Airport Authority and the Geauga County Commissioners for ODOT Project No. B26-61, Construct T-Hangar – Construction at the Geauga County Airport.
Mrs. Brakey confirmed that they had received Prosecutor approval.
Approved without further discussion
25:52 Min. The County Engineer’s Office received approval for the following:
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to award the Bid to The Aero-Mark Company, LLC for the Application of Pavement Markings to Various Roads, Year 2026 in the amount of $277,777.00 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 Various Roads, including Thwing Road (CH-0027, Sections A-B) and Auburn Road (CH-0004, Section Q) in Chardon and Munson Townships in the amount of $1,290,480.00, as they represented the lowest and best bid. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project.
There were no discussions or questions.
27:35 Min. The Probate/Juvenile Court received approval for the following:
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to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Amendment Form / Fiscal Accountability Attachment A, Pg. 2, Amendment #2 to the FY26 Department of Youth Services RECLAIM Grant to amend budget allocations based on fiscal year to date expenditures, to ensure necessary funding availability for the remainder of the grant period, through June 30, 2026.
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to authorize the President of the Board to execute the Ohio Department of Youth Services Subsidy Grant, Juvenile Court Funding Application Update for FY2027 effective July 1, 2026, in the amount of $275,851.41.
Ms. Bevan presented these resolutions and they passed with no discussion.
28:38 Min. The Building Department received approval to advertise to hold two (2) Public Hearings pertaining to updating the Permit Fee Schedule. Public Hearing #1 will be held on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at 10:00 am and Public Hearing #2 will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 10:00 am. Notice of these Public Hearings will be advertised on June 4, 2026, June 11, 2026, and on the county website.
29:42 Min. The Department of Community and Economic Development is requesting the Board approve and execute the Subordination of Mortgage between the Geauga County Board of Commissioners and Farm Credit Mid-America, FLCA in regard to the Revolving Loan Fund Loan for Great Lakes Growers Realty Holdings, LLC from June 2018. Mr. Bonner from Great Lakes Growers came on May 5th to talk about the subordination. Ms. Malkamaki said that this will create 8 new jobs. The County would be 5th in line. She said, “We’re 4th in line now.” Mrs. Brakey asked: “What do the Commissioners' get for subordinating this loan?”
Ms. Malkamaki said that the main impact was job creation. She said, “We are subordinating one loan with a $78,000 payoff.” She also cited increased property taxes that will result from the upgrades. She noted that the property was appraised for $15 Million and there are a total of $10 Million in loans.
32:34 Min. The Dog Warden received approval to execute the Waiver of Notice of Hearing on Account, and further authorize Matt Granito, Dog Warden, to execute the Waiver of Notice of Hearing on Account and other necessary documents related to a bequest from the Estate of Beverle May Krueger to the Geauga County Dog Shelter to help the dogs at the Dog Shelter and to deposit all funds, if any, into the Dog and Kennel Fund.
Mr. Granito brought a 2-year old stray from Middlefield and said that they are hoping to find him a home.
Mr. Granito said that they have already received $70,000 a year ago on this bequest and this is the last of the money that is there. He said that some taxes had to be paid and he is not sure what is left, but their APA (Assistant Prosecuting Attorney) has helped with this.
Mr. Dvorak asked about a second estate that had made a donation. Mr. Granito said that this other estate, for $78,000, is still going through probate.
36:06 Min. The Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) received approval to execute Resolution #26-086 Recognizing June 2026 as Elder Abuse Awareness Month.
Mr. Swenson said that social worker Cristina Miller does an incredible job and has been recognized nationally for her work. He noted that Geauga is an aging community.
Ms. Miller said she was there to talk about Adult Protective Services and “the work we do for the community.“ She said they have a staff of three and their primary job “is to investigate physical reports of abuse, neglect, self- neglect, and exploitation for those that are 60 and older in our community. These investigations include those individuals who have physical and or mental impairments and who live in an independent living situation. In 2025, we investigated 134 cases. Of the 134 cases, 75 were investigated as self-neglect.” She said that self-neglect is the most frequently investigated.
She also noted an increase in referrals for exploitation especially involving scams and said there is a new one every day. They do work with law enforcement regarding the criminal aspect and noted that it has been difficult to recover money especially as many complaints come in weeks after the occurrence. She said that law enforcement has said that an investigation needs to start within 24-28 hours.
She said that in some cases, “Probate Court needs to get involved when we need further intervention and
oversight to help ensure the safety and try to rectify the concerns that come before us.”
Ms. Miller stated: “Our staff consistently strives to consider self-determination of older adults while also considering any imminent safety risks. Older adults do have the ability to make their own decisions and at times the agency must allow that to occur despite what we may think or what loved ones or other community members may think. We rely on treating physicians in the community to help us determine when someone's decision-making may be impacted so that it can help guide our case direction. We have a multi-disciplinary team that meets quarterly called Geauga Aware where we discuss new services and challenging cases. In addition, we offer presentations routinely to our community partners so we can ensure they understand what we do and what barriers and limitations we have. For this year, for June, our event is going to be the dementia experience…. It's going to take place on June 1st and it's going to be a 15 minute interactive experience for people to go through to see what dementia might be like or what the people who struggle with dementia might be experiencing.“
Mrs. Brakey asked if there has been a change in statistics over time.
Ms. Miller said that self-neglect is still the primary thing, which is a situation where someone isn’t meeting their own needs. Mrs. Brakey asked, “What are things people might spot?" Ms. Miller said that a lot of times it would be home conditions, hoarding, uncleanliness, not taking medications, and/or being withdrawn from support systems.
Mrs. Brakey asked who they should call if self-neglect is suspected, and Ms. Miller said to call the JFS main phone line, (440) 285-9141, Monday through Friday or after hours to call the SAFEline at (440)285-5665.
50:03 Min. Maintenance Department received approval for the following:
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to execute Change Order #2, increasing the Contract with V. L. Chapman Electric, Incorporated for the West Geauga Senior Center / MSI Wastewater Treatment Plant dedicated Generator Installation by extending the date of completion thirty-five (35) days through July 17, 2026. Mr. Tkach said that there was damage to the switch in shipping so they need to extend the contract.
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to execute the Contract with Ohio Paving and Construction Company, Incorporated for the Geauga County Safety Center Parking Lot Repave for the removal and replacement of a deteriorated trench drain in the amount of $15,074.03, for a new, not to exceed amount of $890,677.52. Mr. Tkach said that there was significant deterioration in the past year and it cannot be repaired, but should be replaced. He said there was debris and dirt in the trench as it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. He said that going forward there will be a preventative maintenance schedule for the drain.
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to execute the Construction Agreement with Architectural Siding, Trim and Roofing, Incorporated (A-Star) for the Geauga County Courthouse Annex Roof Upgrade Project in the amount of $496,604.60 ($432,604.60 Base Bid and $64,000.00 Owner’s Contingency). The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project. Mr. Tkach said that this had been approved at a prior meeting.
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to execute the Notice to Proceed for Architectural Siding, Trim and Roofing, Incorporated (A-Star) for the Geauga County Courthouse Roof Upgrade project.
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to execute the Notice of Commencement of Public Improvement, pursuant to O.R.C. 1311.252 for Architectural Siding, Trim and Roofing, Incorporated (A-Star) for the Geauga County Courthouse Annex Roof Upgrade project.
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to award the Bid to Architectural Siding Trim and Roofing, Incorporated for the Geauga County Courthouse Annex Masonry Restoration and Roof Replacement in the amount of $257,047.56 ($235,845.56 Base Bid and $21,202.00 Owner’s Contingency) as they represented the lowest and best bid. Mr. Tkach said that they received three bids. One bid exceeded the estimate by more than 20%. He said this is the lower of the other two.
58:49 Min. The Department of Water Resources received approval for the following:
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to execute the Contract Agreement with Grade Line, Incorporated for the Merritt Road Sanitary Sewer Extension Project, in the amount of $130,960.00. The Bid Bond submitted shall be held to serve as the Performance Bond for this project. Mr. Gorris said that as a reminder they had already awarded this. It will serve properties north of Ravenwood. He said it is just for sanitary sewer as the water line is already available.
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to waive the 200- hour maximum vacation accrual for a Supervisor, Maintenance and Operations, for the period May 10, 2026 (Payroll #11) through July 4, 2026 (Payroll #14).
The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute the Certificate of Substantial Completion for the Geauga County Courthouse Expansion, GMP Phase #2, effective January 31, 2026. Ms. Bevan said that, “Obviously, you note the date is January 31st. So the reason it came late was Infinity was delayed in creating it and TDA (Then Design Architecture) wanted to update the punch list before it came over to us. So that's the justification.” Ms. Bevan said that between June 5 and end of year there will be small pay applications for punch list items such as fit and finish, grouting, and touch up paint. On June 19th they will receive the final change order from Infinity and any money back that hasn’t been expended. She noted that TDA has a nice video presentation of the ribbon cutting.
Ms. Bevan said that, “And then in December, on the 10th of December, there will be what's known as the 11 month walkthrough. So that basically you sign the substantial completion in January… that's about 11 months and there's another walkthrough that occurs at that time.” She said out of 17 items on the punch list from March 30, there are 10 left. She said the majority will be completed the following week. She also said that in the near future Infinity will ask to lower the retainage which is now at 2% or $456,000 to 1% or $230,000.
Mrs. Brakey asked about the status of the Law Library. Ms. Bevan said that they are slowly moving things, and that Krystal Thompson (Law Librarian) is working with Court IT to get items out. She said that Mr. Weigle (Director of Maintenance Department) is doing custodial and carpet cleaning. He had determined that the carpet did not need to be replaced.
The Commissioners’ Office received approval to execute Resolution #26-087 Approving a Compensation Agreement relating to the Proposed TIF Ordinance for the Heritage Pointe Development Project in the Village of Middlefield, in accordance with R.C. 5709.40 (E)(1), and further execute the Compensation Agreement. Ms. Blair said that back in January there had been a Resolution prepared and the Commissioners had objected to the number of years and percentage of tax on the improvements. The Commissioners had requested negotiations and Prosecutor Flaiz worked on it. Ms. Blair said, “and they have come to an agreement, and Middlefield has approved an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a compensation agreement with Commissioners in regards to the distribution of tax increment financing revenues and declaring it as an emergency.”
Mrs. Brakey said, “the Prosecutor’s office did a great job negotiating for us.”
1:07:40 Min. Board Discussion – Water Resources Department Overview
Mr. Gorris started with what he called a Public Service announcement and an experiment regarding flushable wipes. He gave a bottle of water each to Mr. Dvorak and Mrs. Brakey. One had toilet paper in it and the other a flushable wipe and he asked them to shake the bottle during his presentation.
He said that Water Resources is under the hiring authority of BOCC but they are self-funded. Their revenue comes from the service they provide, such as sewer bills, water bills, lab bills, and service connections. They function under Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 6117 which governs sewer districts and ORC 6103 which governs county water supply systems. They are regulated by the Ohio EPA and in some cases they are also regulated by the Federal EPA. He said for instance that the McFarland Wastewater Treatment Plant is under a Federal EPA consent order.
Mr. Gorris said that there are twenty-seven wastewater treatment plants throughout Geauga County and 36 lift stations. He said that lift stations are required because of the nature of the topography of Geauga County, noting, “We're not one high spot that goes down to a gravity like you do with the headwaters down to Lake Erie.“
Mr. Gorris continued, “We are also 22% capacity owners of the wastewater treatment plant in Chagrin Falls because the wastewater from Chagrin Falls Park goes to the treatment plant in Chagrin Falls. So we pay 22% of the operating costs and expenses for that plant. On top of that, we have over 6,500 commercial and residential sewer accounts, maintain 135 miles of gravity sewer, force main and vacuum sewer line. So, we're not just a gravity or a force main, we also have 4 vacuum systems similar to your household system that you plug in.”
They do not cover the City of Chardon.
Mr. Gorris further stated,“On our water side, we maintain four public water systems. Water - Bainbridge, Scranton Woods. Metzenbaum (Department of Developmental Disabilities), GMHA Public Housing in Middlefield Township.” He mentioned several smaller systems that they manage as well as fire protection systems.
He said, “We have three (water) treatment plants… in addition we have over 815,000 gallons of storage above ground that includes our tower here services center, our tower in Bainbridge, and our above ground tanks over at Scranton Woods that are actually inside a building… 35 miles of distribution main, 460 mainline valves which 30 % of those we work annually. The rest of them within a 5 year rotation. 476 fire hydrants that we maintain; over a thousand customer accounts covering portions of six townships.”
Mr. Gorris said they have a certified lab off Aquilla Road. “We provide both water and wastewater testing. And when I say it's open to the public, your septic, your drinking water can come to our lab.” He said that total coliform is the most requested test.
They have a staff of 33 individuals but can go up to 42. Mr. Gorris said that everyone has some type of certification from the Ohio EPA, State Boards, etc. They are on call 24/7.
He then asked for the water bottles and noted that the one Commissioner Dvorak had, which was toilet paper, the paper had just about all disintegrated and while the one Commissioner Brakey had contained large pieces of the “flushable wipe.” He said these wipes “clog up our systems… our trash traps will catch some of these but for the most part, they get clogged. It causes us labor. From the standpoint of your septic system at home, it gets clogged in your tanks…. So the moral of the story is to save our costs and keep them down, anything that is not toilet paper or comes from the person, do not flush it down.”
Mr. Dvorak asked about the number of customers. Mr. Gorris said that between water and sewer customers they serve 7,000 to 8,000 homes with a thousand water customers, combined with over 6,500 to 6,800 sanitary customers. He said that since he ran the numbers they’ve added quite a few homes in Canyon Lakes.
1:20:02 Min. Discussion on Homestead Exemption and Owner Occupancy relating to House Bill 96
Ms. Bevan said, “I just kind of wanted to get a temperature check with the board so that we can go ahead and figure out what our tasks are given your direction.”
Mrs. Brakey said that they had looked at both owner occupied and expansion of homestead exemption the prior year. She said, “We have a tool and I think we should use it.“ She noted that last year was the first year Commissioners could have elected to use these tools, but everyone’s budgets were already set and it would have been difficult to figure out where and how to cut budgets. She said she thought it would give meaningful property tax relief.
Mrs. Brakey said, “We need to live with less. Our residents are learning to live with less.”
Mr. Dvorak said he has talked with State Rep. Dave Thomas about property tax relief. He said that last year was too close to the budgetary process but he said he really wants to look into it.
Mrs. Brakey acknowledged that this is not a perfect solution. She said that the State should be funding education more.
Ms. Bevan said that both measures fit with the overall approach of the Board and she would like to create options and avenues to allow for tax relief. Mr. Spidalieri had no comment.
Ms. Bevan said that they will need to rescind the prior motion. Reviewer Note: This refers to the Commissioners’ previous decision not to adopt the “piggyback provision” in House Bill 96 for either the
homestead exemption or owner occupied credits. See the LWV Geauga Observer Report on the November 18, 2025 County Commissioners Meeting for more information.
Mrs. Brakey recommended that they have two separate motions. She said that the Homestead exemption will help those hardest hit, such as veterans and low income residents, and the owner occupied credit would more broadly help residents. She noted that Lake County did both last year.
Public Meeting - None
1:27 Min. Executive session - The Commissioners approved going into executive session at 10:50 am for the purpose of discussing the compensation of public employees. They were joined by Ms. Bevan and Mr. Jimison.
1:48:55 Min. Return from Executive Session at 11:11 am with no action
Meeting adjourned at approximately 11:14 am.
Information and Posted Minutes: Available here.
Next Regular Meeting of the BOCC: The next Regular Meeting of the BOCC was scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, 2026. Other meetings coming up in June will be at 9:30 am on Tuesdays, June 9 and 16.
Observer: Gail Roussey
Editor: Rooney Moy
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Date Submitted: June 12, 2026
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