County Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

You guys ready?

Good morning, it's Friday, June 5th, 2026. Welcome to Lorain County Board of Commissioners meeting. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Commissioner Moore? Here. Commissioner Gallagher? Here. Commissioner O'Neill? Here. We have a quorum.

Okay.

First up is a presentation in regards to Lorain County Health District .5 Renewal Levy. Commissioner Mark Adams is here as well as the new one, Justin Rechachar.

We're going to butcher that. We are going to butcher it. We're forewarning you. After taking them everywhere? It's interesting to hear the different pronunciations of it. Good morning, Commissioners and everyone. It is my pleasure, our pleasure, to be here and actually is one of my last acts to be able to talk about the Health Department and especially for the consideration of the levy itself and also just talking about public health in Lorain County, Ohio. One of the things that not a lot of people know is that public health departments were born the way that they exist in Ohio from a Lorraine representative, a state representative. Representative Hughes in 1919 penned the Hughes Act, which changed the face of public health in Ohio. It was later amended by Representative Griswold and is known as the Hughes-Griswold Act. And that's where health departments were essentially the setting up of funding and the responsibilities of of what they do, and we are just about 106 years old. For us, our mission is to serve and support a healthy community. How does the health department get funded? 33% of it comes from a levy, 31% from grants, 29% fees, 7% from reimbursements. I wanted to say reimbursements because it did say other for years, and I thought that's a different word. The levy that we have is the same we've had for the last 10 years. It's a .5 mil. It costs $10.50 for every $100,000, so less than a dollar a month for that levy. What we do, our responsibility is really being present in the community to just about every event that's out there. If we know about it, we try to be at it. Some of the other things that we do, we protect our water through water quality testing, reducing overdoses by 55%. Just as a side note, the state of Ohio last year saw a drop of about 17% statewide in overdoses. Lorain County was the only one to see an overdose drop of 55%. We can tie that directly into the distribution of Narcan and walking door-to-door, which is a very unique program that we have in Lorain County, walking door-to-door and talking with residents about overdoses and fentanyl. The other thing is ensuring a safe food 24-7 response and biking and driving made safer. One of the things that we have is we have tried to put as much money back into our Healthy Place grants, puts money back into the community, providing for safer sidewalks, safer playgrounds, improved trails, hydration stations, and public art when it's public health messaging. Since 2015, we've invested in 73 different Healthy Places grants throughout Lorain County. And just some pictures there as examples, an inclusive playground in Lorain, park improvements in Wellington, and an outdoor fitness station in Kipton Village. one of the things that we have also is a unique program not every health department has this in fact very few still have it to the at this day and that is we provide nursing school nursing services as well most health departments stop doing that it's one of the things that we do and we enjoy doing and it's still a unique program That is not the, uh, the school flag patrol that you see out there. It's, um, uh, that is our vector control program. That is how we, uh, we go out and collect ticks. Uh, we take that blanket, we do surveillance throughout the entire county, or we take those flags, uh, and we bring them back and we send them to the state for testing and we'll speciate them and send them to the state. We also have the system set up where people can report, uh, through our tick tracker online. to let us know because one of the things that we're trying to do is the seasons have been getting worse and worse for residents are probably hearing a lot more information about ticks that are out there it is a it's becoming a problem but it's something that happens and it's our responsibility to go out there make sure that we don't have the ability to spread Lyme disease and that we try to reduce as much as possible through education and through the reduction of at least getting out information to let people know where ticks are at in the county uh we the next thing is we clean up neighborhoods it was a program that we started in 2023 by creating the housing program when you could see that and it wasn't just something that's in the cities this is all throughout the entire county that we go out to some of the problems that we've run into over the last two and a half years where you might have seen in the news especially in March where we were out at a house and we removed five 40-yard dumpsters from outside and inside the home that's actually a picture from we use that house then as an exercise to be able to create a policy and a procedure manual for hoarding and responding to hoarding incidents we that's the that comes from the the training that we've got after September 11th 2001 health departments were looked at as one of those entities that were going to, the government said, we're gonna start sending public health people to be able to learn how to respond to public emergencies, not just public health emergencies, but be part of the training nucleus of where people can get public health training and response training. And that's exactly what we did that day is we brought in agencies from all around the county and outside to come in and we went through the scenario, that hoarding scenario, exactly the way it played out. who the first responders were, what happened when we came on scene, what happened when we found the individual in the home, and then responding and then cleaning it up. The last thing is, well, last picture would be is that's our Narcan walk that's on the left-hand side of that slide. And that's where we, where there's an overdose, we walk a four-block radius and go door-to-door, talking with residents. And it has been 100% of the time people come out, they talk to us, it has never been negative. And that's gone on, we've done that now three times in multiple cities, Amherst, Lorain, Elyria. And Oberlin last year, we started at Oberlin last year. Some of the other things that we do, just as some of the numbers, again, that was the Healthy Places grant I already talked about, but community health workers and nurses. Something new is that we did get a grant to put nurses back in homes for home visiting to try to prevent infant mortality. This is a county that the state four years ago said your infant mortality numbers are way too high. We were the recipient of a grant back then, and they have continued to fund that piece to try to, as much as possible, put anybody from a public health agency inside of a person's home after they have a baby. Of course, if welcomed in, but trying to establish a relationship to try to keep those babies and get them to year one. the other thing is that we have a low-cost prescription program that has saved over half a million dollars for Lorain County residents over 2,000 families with special needs children are connected to resources through our nurses in our CMH program 4,800 families in Lorain County are WIC families and that is not all of them that doesn't capture all the families it continues to rise as well and in one year 90 gallons of breast milk was collected for NICU babies uh we were so successful in that we're a permanent collection site for breast milk and those are the ways to get in touch with us our phone number uh 322-6367 lorrainecountyhealth.com or just come in the office because we always have we always have somebody at the front desk and i appreciate not only your time but i appreciate everybody in lorraine county and for the ability to be allowing me to serve them so May I? Justin's here if you have any questions.

I don't think he wants any questions that might prolong his employment or something. We usually do it not just in your case, Mark, but could you tell folks what WIC is, W-I-C?

Sure. Women Infant Children. That's a program where depending on if you qualify, it uses the government's poverty scale and if you qualify it's to ensure that every family in Lorain County has access to the same foods the same nutrition information the same care as every any other family that's in the county it's a program started in the 70s I believe and we've had it for I believe since 1983. we just get a lot of inquiries from folks after they watch the video those that do and they want to know what it stands for so

You saved us a couple phone calls with what you just did. Thank you.

It's okay.

I appreciate the work you guys are doing, especially the NARCAM. I feel like we're the only county that's being proactive, especially with your numbers. Are other counties following your lead?

There is one other county that I know of that does the walk. I don't know of any other counties that do it. And we created the epi team back in 22. We always had one person doing epidemiology, but we created this epi team. And they absolutely were able to prove that it was the walking door to door. So we can say it with proof saying, no, the data shows it was walking door to door that made us 55% of a reduction of 55% far outpacing the rest of the state of Ohio.

No, but you find when there's an overdose, you guys react and you take off, you identify. And I remember when you guys were talking about that a couple of years ago. Yes, sir. So I think it's something to be very proud of. What do you know? I just had somebody, a friend of mine came back from malaria. He was up in Northern Michigan and he says, Pennsylvania and Northern Michigan is very heavy in ticks. It is really bad. And I thought, wow, what do I, and then you just mentioned it here. I mean, what kind of,

information are you getting is there anything coming for like is ohio going to start to get that it is it's so it's wet it's very heavily weather related if we don't have the freeze overs they're able to winter over so we're not getting the kill that we normally would get when it comes to a tick population so they're becoming overpopulated It's odd the way that we look at things. You go into Arkansas, you go hiking, you're coming out of the woods with ticks all over you. And I, as a public health person, I walked out of the Ozarks when I was like, this is, what is this? Those pants never made it back to Ohio. But I think there's a warning. That's TMI in that. Yeah, it's like a little TMI there. congratulations uh it's uh it's that is mainly so what we're trying to do is um and justin's got some information on it as well there was a thing that he's i've heard him talking about that he's been talking with our environmental health folks about but it's uh you're seeing that we want to try to when you start cutting grass when you try to get we do have a lot of environment for them to be able to live and thrive in and so now it's going the same thing with mosquitoes we used to do that education, get rid of the buckets of water in your backyard, the bird fountains, try to clean the water out. Now we're gonna have to start doing that same type of education that we did with mosquitoes is well, let's get those yards cut. Let's get the when you got those properties with high weeds and grasslets. Let's start maintaining those things and or at least getting information out that we're gonna start really paying attention to the tech piece.

Okay.

Um, usually like, um, I think it's on June 16th. We have, um, another group coming in to do a similar presentation and put a levy on. We don't have the wording. I think I told Teresa, we're just going to put it on the, on the agenda for June 16th, which should be, that should be okay. Right?

It's fine, sir. Yeah. Not a problem at all. She came up and let us know. Not an issue.

okay okay i just you know usually we'll have it on there you speak and then we vote so um there's no need to come back unless you well the new guy oh no he's coming back okay when's your last day next friday next friday okay

Well, some of the advocacy you guys did with the hoarding and all that, you might not be able to see the fruit of your labor with all the townships with Senate Bill 102 should be passing any day now, which hopefully that'll work better with the Department of Health in the township areas where the regulations are kind of equal what they are in the cities and municipalities.

Yes, sir. I saw that. And yeah, there are some of those limitations. Plus, a person's home is their castle. But at times, if those issues inside the house are affecting the neighboring residents, then that's where we can assist. And in this case, it was a Carlisle township. So we were able then to use the powers of the Board of Health to be able to go in and fix that situation. So at least with some equalization, then it'll help in some of the areas that might not have maybe the same codes or maybe some other things going on.

And based on the weather we had last winter, I don't think we're going to have a tick alive, are we?

I know that we think that. I know that when it's those cold days, January was, I know I was getting tired of Ohio. But it's still not enough, and it's not a long enough period. Because December, I could have cut the lawn on December 31st. And I remember walking outside going, wow, it's getting later and later each year where you could actually go out and cut the lawn. was being i was joking but still i'm sorry it was it was very cold last winter and i hope i hope the uh it was infestation is not there all right we all have pets and they go out and then you got to check the pets when you go out with them yeah all right well thank you very much thanks very much for all you've done and i think did you get him we got a card for him i did i uh

Mine's very subtle on what I said.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, okay. Because I got two cards. I know. Let's just say, I'm just going to say it again. We'll see you soon. Thank you, sir. Okay. Thank you. We'll talk about it in exec. Is that it?

Yeah.

Okay.

Under resolutions number one, investments.

Move to approve.

Second. Discussion? Mr. Moore? Aye. Mr. Gallagher?

Aye. Mr. Riddell? Aye.

Number two, appropriations?

Move to approve. second discussion if you notice we did get some appropriating some donated funds from a private citizen for the sheriff's office for the canine units that's pretty um pretty amazing and thank you to that uh citizens and the clubs for doing that for our sheriff so i'm going to point that out so anything further mr moore aye mr gallagher hi mr mcdowell sorry number three transfers Move to approve.

Second.

Discussion? Commissioner Moore?

Aye. Commissioner Murdaugh?

Aye.

Commissioner Gallagher?

Aye.

Number four, advances, repayments, none. Number five, requisitions.

Move to approve.

Second.

Discussion? Commissioner Moore?

Aye.

Commissioner Murdaugh? Aye. Commissioner Gallagher? Aye. Number six, travel.

Move to approve.

Second discussion. Mr Moore, I wish we know all right, Mr Gallagher. I number seven bills.

Who to approve? We have two pages.

Oh geez, sorry.

Page 2.

Move to approve pages one and two second.

Discussion? Commissioner Gallagher?

Aye.

Commissioner Moore? Aye. Commissioner Riddell?

Aye.

Number 8, county commissioners may recess in an executive session to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of public employee or official along with any other matters as specifically identified by motion in accordance with the Ohio Browse Code 121.22G138. Unless expressly stated otherwise during executive session matters discussed in executive session are designated by the county commissioners as confidential. Because of the confidentiality of such matters necessary for the proper conduct of government business, any disclosure outside of executive session is prohibited by Ohio Res Code 102.03b. While in executive session, the county commissioners may discuss and deliberate on the matters at issue, but no votes may be taken until open session resumes.

And we'll be going into the exact, so.

Okay.

C, public comment on agenda items.

I guess your assistant had to go run more copies of the agenda. Hopefully everybody has them. Item number 15, David Urich was going to address. Keep your comments at two minutes, please. And not you, everybody. I'm just letting everybody know. But good morning, sir. Good morning. Good morning.

Just briefly, just to reiterate what was said on Tuesday, that I would urge the board to continue the waivers for... 25 26 27 for the solid waste leaving the district it's crucial to our bids I'm home with Amherst Township we're part of the consortium the bit out the solid waste contracts we achieved a substantial reduction for our residents in the solid waste bills years ago and it still holds today without the waiver fees it would be very difficult for the consortium to bid out the way it does and to achieve the savings that it does so you know my my opinion would be to urge you to continue the waivers for this year and for next year as they are crucial for the the contracts and crucial for the consortium to function okay that's all that i wanted okay thanks thank you dave thank you very much sandra jensen in regards to items number nine and ten which is the uh piggyback tax

Good morning. Good morning.

Good morning. Sandra Jensen, 617 Lafayette Boulevard, Sheffield Lake. In addition to being out on the picket line with my JFS coworkers, I'm a 19-year member of the Sheffield Lake School Board and a longtime member of the Rain County want to say JFS joint vocational school so last week I had emailed you and I said it was because a social media influencer Dan Smith was encouraging County residents to write to you so I wrote to you and And I talked about what I did in my email. And you replied to me. And I appreciated getting a response from two of you. But last night, I realized one thing that was not mentioned at the last commissioners meeting on Tuesday was the input that Mr. Smith's Facebook post generated. And I sent you a screenshot. he had encouraged people to email the commissioners with their thoughts on the piggyback and so um i'm just wondering did you get a lot of emails from residents about and so and you know if you could answer for the group that would be great um what was the general gist of the emails that you received from you know just in general so and that's all so just want to because i just you know i'm here we're hearing from the professionals here the city and the schools and how they're being affected but what all did residents say because they're not here at the meeting so that's all thanks okay thank you uh megan uh hignight in regards to the uh same issue

good morning good morning good morning commissioners my name is megan hignight and i am proud to serve as the principal of north ridgeville high school every day i have the privilege of witnessing what is possible when a community invests in its children to give you just a glimpse of what that investment has produced i'd like to share a few accomplishments of the class of 2026. This year, approximately 340 students graduated from North Ridgeville High School. Together, they have earned more than $8 million in scholarship offers. Over 50% of them had earned college credit while in high school. Our students completed nearly 3,800 hours of community service. 143 of them earned pre-apprenticeship credentials. and eight of our students earned their state-tested nursing assistant certification, allowing them to begin careers in healthcare immediately after graduation. These accomplishments are not accidents. They are the result of dedicated educators, counselors, support staff, and administrators who work every day to create opportunities and help students succeed. Today, I am here to ask you to consider what will happen if North Richville City Schools loses another $1.7 million through the piggyback homestead exemption and the owner-occupied credit exemption. Because of previous funding losses, North Ridgeville High School alone will already be down at least six staff members next year due to a hiring freeze. Those losses mean fewer course offerings, reduced mental health support, fewer opportunities for students, and fewer adults available to supervise and keep our children safe. We cannot afford to lose more. Our district continues to grow, and next year's classes will be among the largest in our school's history. We have more students, greater needs, and higher expectations than ever before. But we're being asked to do more with less. The majority of our students affected by this decision do not yet have a vote. They do not yet have a seat at these tables. So today, I ask you to hear their voices through mine. Our students are the future workforce, healthcare providers, business leaders, and community members of Lorain County. Every dollar lost is an opportunity taken from them. On behalf of the students, families, and staff of North Ridgeville High School, I respectfully urge you to vote no on the piggyback homestead exemption and the owner-occupied credit exemption. Thank you.

Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. Chris, Bellsroy? Okay. Your writing's like mine. Apologies.

No, no, don't worry. Good morning, Commissioners. Good morning, Chris. Good morning. My name is Chris Pelfrey, resident of Avon, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. As a resident of Avon and an employee of North Ridgeville City Schools, I'm here to ask you to reconsider Lorain County's decision to adopt both tax exemptions. As you know, Lorain County is one of only four counties in Ohio that approved both exemptions in 2025. While these measures were intended to provide tax relief, they've also created significant unintended consequences for our local schools, communities, and public safety services. For North Ridgeville schools alone, these exemptions resulted in an immediate loss of approximately $1.8 million in revenue for the tax year of 2025. That equates to roughly $361 per student every year. As a result, we have eliminated a grade level from our STEM school and we are not replacing staff members who retire or resign. These reductions directly affect the educational opportunities available to our students. If these revenue losses continue, the consequences will become even more severe. We may be forced to reduce additional staff, cut curricular programming, and scale back extracurricular activities and athletics to provide students valuable opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed. We may also be forced to expand our current busing radius. Today, the two-mile transportation limit primarily affects students in grades three through eight. In the future, however, that same policy could impact our youngest learners in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, creating new challenges for families throughout our community. We all want to support homeowners, especially seniors and those facing financial hardships. But we also must recognize that strong schools, safe communities, and quality public services are investments that benefit every resident and contribute to the property values and economic growth. I respectfully ask you, the board, to reconsider these exemptions and work with local school districts, municipalities, and community stakeholders to find solutions that balance tax relief with long-term needs of the communities that we serve. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you. Thank you. General Phillips?

good morning good morning good morning gerald phillips avon lake i want to talk about the item eight and nine uh i've made many comments about both of those so number eight deals with the most neediest people that need property tax relief the seniors with unlimited income the disabled and the handicapped so I urge you to vote yes on that as far as issue 9 in light of the fact that things have changed and the state's already going to phase the owner's credit up I don't think you need to put any more burden on a school district because they're going to have to deal with that increase which they didn't know about so I urge you to vote no on 9 thank you

Thank you. That's the shortest you've ever gone. OK. Do I carry over my time? No, no, no. I'm sure. Yeah, we'll make them up as we go, Gerald. OK. Andy Hosteller, in regards to the rollback and the tax. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

Annie Hosteller, 34620 Bainbridge, North Ridgeville. Thank you for giving me this opportunity this morning. a lot has been said about the effects of these two tax issues on our students but i am here this morning to emphasize a few points that were made earlier this week both the north ridgeville mayor corcoran and a city council member from avon lake spoke about allowing local control and the will of the people in each of their municipalities to decide how much in taxes they were willing to pay and how best to use those funds as this great nation celebrates its 250th birthday this summer it is deeply troubling to me that any one person or persons enact laws or policies that erode our democracy and the will of the people allowing our commissioners this authority to arbitrarily decide how much an entity should be able to collect does just that allowing county commissioners to circumvent the vote of the people to enact additional tax breaks does just this One of you spoke the same sentiment publicly on Tuesday stating that these issues should be handled locally and that communities should decide these tax issues. Commissioner Rydell went as far to say that last year was a temporary fix to the rising property taxes. two of you shared publicly your displeasure with the state for putting you in this position i would remind you that the state gave 88 ohio counties the ability and Lorain county was only one of four who voted to give both the homestead piggyback and the owner occupied credit discount i understand that these are tough decisions Those that know me best would tell you that I would never not side with those in most need. Helping our elderly, disabled, our military families that have lost loved ones needs to be a priority. But I argue that by simply shifting this tax burden to our municipalities and our schools will only lead to these entities going back to our taxpayers in need of raising taxes sooner than expected. would ask that you not extend either of these tax credits moving forward and if you do so it is with full understanding that it comes at the detriment of our police fire schools and libraries thank you thank you Don Johnson in regards to item number 15 the solid waste waiver issue

Good morning, Commissioners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Don Johnson. Can you hear me? Yeah, we're good. I'm a lifelong resident of Lorain County, grew up in North Ridgeville, and currently reside in LaGrange, Ohio. I work with Kimball Recycling and Disposal out of Dover, Ohio, and we're here to talk about the waiver. I feel that the waiver is... uh important but if i could give you a quick history on a little bit of trash service in lorain county i was blessed to get a job with bfi brownie ferris industries in the 80s 1980s work with them to the the early part of 2000 so i know a little bit about the services that were provided and have been provided in Lorain County then and now. One of the things, blessed to have a landfill here in Lorain County, but one of the other things about that is as time has gone on, the prices go up and up and up in all industries. But to have competition in Lorain County, you would have to go through Republic to get rates to use their facility, and that can be difficult to get a rate that's competitive in Lorain County. So the commission or the solid waste district in 2012, I believe it was, enacted flow control. and because they felt that would be a better way for Lorain County to control their trash. But what that did is it made it difficult for people to compete in Lorain County for services. So they came up with a waiver system where the waiver system would allow Solid waste district to collect two dollars a ton For for the trash that would be leaving the county to help them support programs for education and other items Through the solid waste district and but it would also be fair for the residents to have competitors come in and take a look of providing services and it was in I can tell you, I lived in LaGrange Township in the early 2000s, and we were paying $25 to $40 a month for a rubbish service. Individuals living in North Ridgeville or Lorain or Luria were paying, say, $14, $15 per month. And again, I worked for the company at that time, which was... not Republic, but it was allied BFI.

Well, can you close? I mean, you're already past the two minutes. Can you close? Yeah, I can close.

So I'm here to tell you that the waiver system works because it allows the solid waste district to go out, reduce rates from $35 a month when Rumpke got ordered the first contract to $17. So it's beneficial for the residents of Lurien County for residential service to have the waiver system. Thank you. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Keith Kimball. In regards to item 15, solid waste.

Good morning. Thanks for the opportunity to speak Good morning. My name is Keith Kimball. I live in Dover, Ohio and Operate the company Kimball recycling and disposal. We're a family business been in business a long time We operate in about 25 counties in central and eastern, Ohio We have a facility fairly nearby in the edge of Medina County and Lorain County. And we've invested in that facility to be able to provide service to customers in this locality. And the waiver system provides uh... benefit in the sense that we can compete uh... and uh... but uh... with it only being one or two years many of the contracts that we bid on we currently service uh... avon lake their three to five year contracts are even longer and so that uncertainty becomes becomes uh... uh... can become could become a problem we've been successful in getting the waivers up to this time we hope we can continue it does provide a barrier to competition if there were no waiver process it would also provide a barrier to our ability to hire people because in a locality because you know they wouldn't be certain of their of their jobs quite a bit of investment in the waste business and so you need some certainty It will also raise prices from a lack of competition if the waiver process were not available. And it's important to note that we also pay the fees and so the waiver process doesn't seem to harm economically the solid waste district and its operation. So we thank you for the opportunity to do business, and we hope to continue. And thank you for your consideration of this waiver. Oh, thank you for coming in.

Thank you very much.

Thanks for coming in.

Jennifer Fenderbosch. In regards to items 9 and 10, the piggyback taxes.

Good morning, commissioners. Good morning. So I was signed up for 9, 10, and 15. Do you want me to speak to all of them at once? Yep, I see all three. Then you don't have to come back again? All three of them? Is that good? Okay, very good. Okay, so I've been here before on nine and ten, and thank you for splitting them. I do believe that there are two separate issues that we have to balance. We have to take care of, in my opinion, the most fragile in our society, which number nine does deal with. Number ten, the 2.5, is taking from so many. And I hope that this does not go back into effect. I was in touch with Nathan Manning, our Ohio Senator, and he did give me the numbers that came out of House Bill 186 that the Senate amended to increase the owner-occupied property tax credit. from 2.5% to 15.38% over four years. This is from the state. This is not what comes here to the county. So this morning, again, he reiterated it does not affect the schools. This is simply going to be putting more money back into the pockets of our residents. therefore I don't believe that there's a need for the 2.5% that was given to us by the commissioners to try to make whole from the large evaluation that went by if you could please keep that off the books so that solid city services the schools the libraries the townships can can move forward I do want to speak to number 19. I'm sorry. No, you're good. 15. Yes, sir. Number 15, the solid waste waiver. So I was here at the very beginning of the consortium and helped to put it together because we had a monopoly. And there was one hauler in our county, and they were supplying the same services to everyone, but everyone was charged differently. When we did put that consortium together, all of a sudden Republic's rates dropped. And the waiver is what keeps the marketplace going so that competition, as you know, improves the product because you're all business people. And one of the things that was mentioned in the last meeting and the meeting before that about the waiver had to do with, well, how can Rumpke and Kimball and Pete and Pete and others compete if they're calling it to their own? Well, here's how Kimball does it. Our contract in Avon Lake is with Kimball. Kimball, they take the gas out of their area, and they actually have a converter that compresses that natural gas. And 80% of their vehicles are powered by natural gas, which is less costly than diesel. So only 20% of their vehicles have diesel. So that also not only shows an environmental interest, and trying to have a closed circle economy, but it is also cleaner for the residents. So by keeping the waiver in line and keeping the waiver there, where the solid waste district receives $2 per ton, possibly they could go back and they could have their grants put into place again for communities to reuse, recycle product. But the waivers is what keeps the industry from being a monopoly. Thank you so much, sirs. thank you very much hey did they tell you did they tell you if they backfill that 50 now they do the 15 percent the state of ohio one more time please the state of ohio going to backfill that owner occupied credit for the schools um they're not going to be uh applying it to the schools is what the text said this morning so i i don't know how to answer your question i'm just repeating what was said to me by mr nathan okay thank you thank you

Jonathan Liskover or Lisk, sorry. Okay, thanks. In regards to item number 15.

Good morning. Good morning. Jonathan Liskovec. Sorry for the penmanship. No, it's fine. It's better than mine. So I'm here speaking on item 15. I'm public works director for the city of Avon Lake and also an Avon and Lorain County resident. With regards to the solid waste waiver, I just want to reiterate obviously the previous comments in favor and in support of continuance of the waivers and passage as proposed in the agenda. for the reasons of it supports healthy competition between the haulers, it supports competitive pricing for services for the residents that'll be utilizing services, and it supports a stewardship and life care of the current landfill within Lorain County. And that's all I have for you for today. But thank you for your time.

Okay, no, thank you for coming in. Thanks for coming in. David Haynes. In regards to the items 9 and 10. No, you're fine.

David Haines, 8894 Levi Court, North Ridgeville, Ohio. I'm a board member of the city of North Ridgeville City Schools. I'm also a husband to an educator in a competitive district, a father to two of alumni of the North Ridgeville City Schools. One daughter's in Europe right now. Fluent in three language and three other dialects. My youngest was going to be a math major until she decided, education was her calling. None of that would have been possible without the education provided to them by North Ridgeville City Schools. I'm imploring you to shelve item nine and 10. The damage said it affected our future, not just in North Ridgeville, but entire Lorain County. you don't get those time back. If anything COVID taught us, you don't get that time back. So by furthering going in and adding these to the tax base, and with a funding that's already been deemed unconstitutional, where are we supposed to get our funds from? I want you guys to sit and think about that. I'm also a retiree. In my former life, I was a surgical assistant operating room technician for the Cleveland Clinic. or a mantra, train like your life depended on it, because one day it will. I want you guys to seriously consider, if you go forward with this, what kind of education are you affording the doctors, the nurses, techs, OR techs, OR nurses, x-ray techs? Are you going to be looking up at them? Because we're all going to be there at some point in time. And ask yourself, were these the students that we handicapped their education? Or are those the students we decided to take a stand and realize what we did? Thank you very much.

Thank you for coming in. William Zimmerman.

Morning, William Zimmerman, Avon Lake. So I've done some research and from what I've read, I believe you cannot make a request to go to executive session as a catch-all. It's against the Ohio State Constitution. You're supposed to be specific with what you intend to do in that meeting. Because there's also supposed to be minutes from that meeting, Not as detailed as the ones for this meeting, but just so that in the future, once those items are remedied, that there is the ability for the citizens to go back to see what was discussed in those meetings. So I believe your procedures are not correct. that need to be fixed because i don't think that you're doing it properly and that it's considered illegal by the ohio constitution thank you okay thank you we'll look into it thanks you get that game yeah okay uh roxanne cassero in regarding two owner occupied credits and the homestead exemption

Good morning. Good morning.

Good morning, commissioners. I want to begin by thanking you for the leadership you demonstrated last October. You heard the concerns of residents facing rising property bills, rising property values, and increasing tax bills. And you took action to provide meaningful tax relief. At a time when many families, seniors, and individuals on fixed incomes were feeling the effects of inflation, you responded. Since then, the state of Ohio has acted as well. Multiple pieces of legislation have been passed to provide additional tax relief, including House Bills 186 and 129, which limit the growth of school district revenue. Today, I'm not here to argue against tax relief. I share your concern for our most vulnerable residents and understand the importance of affordability. My request is simply that you pause and allow school districts the opportunity to fully understand and adjust to the cumulative impact of the significant changes that have already been enacted. For North Ridgeville City Schools, those state actions will have a substantial financial impact. And while some may view recent valuation increases as a windfall for schools, the reality is far more complex. school districts are required by the state of ohio to provide five-year forecasts now three and those projected revenues are incorporated into our long-term financial planning those anticipated funds have allowed north ridgeville city schools to operate responsibly and avoid asking our community for new operating money since 2012. The proposed tax exemption double-ups currently under consideration would reduce North Ridgeville City Schools by nearly $1.8 million. Combined with the effects of recent state legislation that represents a significant reduction in resources before we and other districts have had the opportunity to fully assess and adapt to the changes already underway. My concern is that if revenues are reduced too quickly, districts may eventually be forced to return to voters for additional levies. And unlike the rollback and homestead provisions of the past, those new levies place a greater share of the tax burden directly on our property owners. Commissioners, you have already taken meaningful action to provide tax relief. I respectfully ask that you continue that thoughtful approach by allowing districts time to evaluate these impacts of the reforms already enacted before pursuing additional reductions. I believe that approach protects taxpayers, respects local schools, and ensures decisions are made with a complete understanding of their long-term consequences. I thank you for your time and your consideration.

Thank you very much. Amelia? DeFredo?

good morning my name is Amelia Giafrido I live in Wakeman I do serve however as the treasurer CFO for Amherst exempted village school district first thank you for the opportunity to allow me to address you today over the past several meetings you've heard from concerned residents school board members superintendents treasurers and other local officials regarding the piggyback exemptions while many important points have already been made I would like to share the perspective of the school district responsible for balancing taxpayer expectations with the educational needs of our children the last new operating levy in Amherst was 2012 the last two levy attempts failed in November and May we are implementing 13.2 million dollars in expenditures over the next three fiscal years additional loss of revenue will be truly detrimental at a time when public school districts are being asked to do more than ever before the resources available to support these responsibilities continue to be stretched and diminished school districts educate the overwhelming majority of ohio children And we are also expected increasing levels of student support, safety, academic instruction, mental health services, technology, transportation, and compliance from multiple state entities. These expectations continue to grow while state foundation remains largely flat, in many cases completely failing to keep pace with inflationary costs. We receive less foundation than we did 15 years ago. It has been noted previously that while the Ohio General Assembly granted county commissioners the authority to implement these piggyback exemptions, counties are not required to do so. Given the significant uncertainty surrounding multiple property tax reform at the state level, there was no pressing need to, what the other day was mentioned, pull this lever. The long-term effects of those legislative changes are yet largely unknown because they're being implemented over a number of years. So we do not know the full financial impact of those reforms. and this this impacts many entities right so just for amherst exempted village schools alone nearly eight hundred thousand dollars in these um this lost revenue uh represents nearly one mill nearly one operating mill and the funding is equal to roughly nine professionals while those numbers may appear modest when viewed across the county as a whole they represent meaningful educational resources lost for our students and taxpayers fewer services fewer supports larger classrooms what does that equate to for the students students and families are definitely collateral damage I understand the concern surrounding rising property taxes. I believe we all do. We understand that. We also believe that providing meaningful relief to seniors, disabled, and disabled veterans is important public policy objective. The meaningful tax policy, however, should balance taxpayer relief with the fiscal stability of the local governments and schools that provide these essential services. commissioners have previously noted that the responsibilities for these decisions was shifted to the county commissioners by state legislators that is true but because the consequences are felt locally the opportunity also exists for you to make a meaningful local decision local control that's what everybody wants right by considering the homestead and owner occupancy piggyback exemption separately you have the ability to provide targeted relief to those most needed while also protecting the financial stability of Lorain County's schools communities and public services you serve the constituents no doubt you also serve these political subdivisions respectfully request that you reconsider these exemptions and carefully weigh their long-term impact on the students families and communities we all serve thank you for your time thank you sorry I let her go four and a half minutes because she's the only one from Amherst and everybody else is from North Ridgeville so sorry sorry if you guys don't think I was being fair but she got a little bit more time so Okay.

Thank you. That's it for public comment. Some of these people want to talk it. I'll get to that. So go ahead. Okay.

Is there any old business?

Do you have any old business? Do you want to read that? Artie? Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah.

So, in honor of the life in service of Lorain County Administrator and former State Senator Jeff Von Brewster, I hereby proclaim, this is a letter written from the Governor, by the way, not myself. I hereby proclaim, by the authority vested in me as the Governor of the State of Ohio, by the Constitution of the laws of the United States of America, that the flags of the United States and the state of Ohio shall be flown at half staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Lorain County County and at the State House, Vern Rife Center and Rhodes Towers from sunrise to sunset until June 7th. His service is this Sunday. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers and his family. Thank you. That was Governor DeWine.

Anything further?

I give that to her.

E nine board business authorized permissive piggyback exemption for homestead in accordance with the high rise code section 319.304 B for tax year 2026 for real property and tax year 2027 for manufactured homes for taxes payable in CY 27 and CY 28, respectfully in Lorain County, Ohio.

Move to approve.

Second. Discussion.

Yes, go ahead. One of the things is I've taken very careful consideration. We have to balance as commissioners here. We have to watch taxpayers' money efficiently. And when all property taxes went up between 20% and 30%, it was a huge influx and a huge burden on the taxpayers, especially the vulnerable, and schools and cities. We have to weigh out what is best for the community as a whole. School districts are a great opportunity, and when I see schools that are fiscally very efficiently run, and I've looked at a few of them, one running at $10,000 a student a year, I applaud them for their for their lean operating expenses. It is an awesome situation. And I've had conversations with them, and then there's other schools that are much higher. We all have responsibility to watch what we're spending right now. As a kid, my dad would say, you have to pull your horns in when you don't have the money or the resources. So we as a group all have to collectively look at what's here, what's involved. And fortunately, the state came in and they started reassessing uh how they how this happened and who it hurt and why it hurt and they made corrections on it this was a yearly this is a yearly cause that we can make a decision on we could elect to go permanent but in this case they're making corrections so my leaning is because they're making corrections to offset some of it I will be changing what I part of my vote from last year and it's more because um they were in it and they saw it they saw the pain that we were all going through us as Commissioners and and the turmoil you know we get these letters and we get people talking to us veterans came up to me and said, hey, we respect what you're doing and it's difficult, but we have vulnerable people. So that being said, it's pretty much you understand where I'm coming from, but we all are in it together and it's gonna be a tough decision for all of us up here.

Thank you, sir.

I wanna open with saying that the participation on this particular issue definitely shows us the way to go to govern going forward. We've held hearings in the past on many issues and the public doesn't show up on either side of the issue. uh this issue was scheduled to take a vote so you know at our previous meeting and because there i guess there was a threat of action people rose to the occasion and we heard what we needed to hear from multiple sides of the of the issue and uh it's unfortunate that we had to put it on agenda schedule it for a vote but It's important to the rest of the public that can't be here. You're speaking for them as well. Those who speak for the exemptions, they've had people to speak. They get to hear spoken and also through the school districts and the cities as well. Having said that the question was asked, what did we hear from? And I think that's a valid question because that's how, that's how we gauge the, uh, the temperature of the issue is by the response we get. We've had hundreds of emails from seniors considering the homestead exemption on the opposite side of that, on the owner occupied, not one email received hit my desk. So it told us that the exemption for owner occupied must not have been as meaningful because no one's afraid of losing it. But for the seniors, also to answer some of those questions that we have to deal with, and I appreciate hearing the thoughts about the situation we're in. And the difficulty is not that we don't want to represent Lorain County and vote on this issue. We were put into an issue that we had no opportunity or seat to create. We were not put in the funding mechanism from the state or the school boards at any time to get us to this level of crisis and to insert us and make us decide, in this case, taking dollars from one place and putting it in another is not a fair way to solve taxing problems. You should look at the issue, decide who's impacted and decide what the funding mechanism is. So I appreciate those comments and we did hear from a lot of people from the seniors. So I wanna thank you all for participating and segue into, we need to also thank our seniors. We are here today with the quality of schools that we have and the quality of government we have because these seniors for 40 or 50 years have paid their taxes. Even when they voted against those taxes, and they were part of the 40 or 45% who voted no, they paid their taxes. And it's not lost on us, Lorain County understands that obligation. We run this year, despite all of the hoopla over high taxes, 98% of the property taxes in Lorain County were paid on time. And I think we should all take great pride in that. But we need to thank our seniors, and we need to understand the situation they're in. Due to the non-growth of economic development, we do have 22 000 seniors living under forty thousand dollars trying to stay in their home and we have more than that because we don't have the economy to support that and they're living on social security or less and as we go forward other counties didn't have that We're an aging old industrial county, and the rural counties of Ohio, 35 of whom have less than 35,000 residents, they don't have the senior population that we do. But because of our past economic success, we have retirees today. And God bless them, they're here. And I don't like solving this problem with this vote, And I'm offering my services to everybody from the school system and the cities that are in here to take a look at other opportunities. Southern states who've had the opportunity to watch and learn from our history, when they pass a levy, they exempt seniors. They say thank you for your past support. We're going to take the ball. We're going to run forward. And if they need to have 3.2 mills instead of three in order to exempt seniors, they exempt seniors from the beginning. And it's a pretty smart move because guess who supports the vote at the ballot to keep the schools going, to keep going the system that they built. So I encourage everybody that's here from the school systems to take a look at their operations, as Mr. Gallagher has said, as well as to look at other opportunities. And I'm volunteering my time, whether I'm in this seat or I'm just walking the street as a citizen, I would be glad to go down to the people in the legislature that we know and have influence with and encourage them to take a look at the levy structure as part of their school funding issue. and let's get Ohio at the forefront instead of the backseat of this issue. And as a compliment to North Ridgeville, this board appointed Lee Armbruster to the college board a few years back for all the reasons that we heard here today about what goes on in North Ridgeville schools. And we thank you for loaning us Lee Armbruster at the college board so that we have a direct connection between our K-12 programs, the successful ones and the most innovative ones and the college. And I can tell you, speaking on behalf of conversations I've had at the college, they love having Lee on the board. So thank you, North Ridgeville.

They were the model I was referencing, by the way.

Everyone keeps saying 22,000 seniors. It's really 22,000 households, which could be, depending on how many seniors are in the home, one or two. Hopefully it's 44. Well, hopefully. But that's a cause I got. When this was presented to us, I actually spoke at the county commissioner's meeting with 150 commissioners there and said, I find it very hard to believe that we all took the hits that we took as elected officials and the blame for the unvoted on increases that happened. And I said, and I found it hard to believe that 10 counties are the only ones that implemented one and only four implemented both piggybacks. What I found amazing when we sent out a letter to about 120,000 houses, How many seniors that were in their 70s came up? I had a few ladies in tears that never experienced the homestead exemption. She was paying her full taxes. And we helped her out and went down to the auditor's office and they helped her. And what I was amazed is that's the calls I got. That's why you notice it went from 20,000 when we originally did this to 22,000. That's 2,000 more seniors that are also going to get a benefit that they've never gotten. I even have a family member who's been living in his home for 18 years and never once got an owner-occupied credit. He's trying to get it now and he's having some difficulties. I told him just keep sending letters. Certified, naturally. So the meeting that we had, I passed out a whole bunch of documents in which I said this is how we made our decision last year. I've been very vocal in my position. I'm not changing my position. I think the fact that during these meetings and these hearings, we've discussed something which I think helped, which was let's split this up to items number nine and number 10, and we'll see how we react. We'll find out in a little bit in regards to whether or not to do one or the other, neither or all. So we'll see. We'll just see how the vote goes. Then after we vote on number 10, we'll take a quick break so that you guys can get back to work. So that's it. Go ahead. Read out. Oh, we just did our discussion.

Any more discussion? No more? I'm good. Okay. Number nine. Commissioner Moore. Yes. Mr. Riddell? Yes. Mr. Gallagher?

Yes.

Number 10, authorize a 2.5% partial real property owner-occupied tax exemption in accordance with the Ohio Rise Code Section 323.152B3 for tax year 2026 for real property and tax year 2027 for manufactured homes for taxes payable in CY27 and CY28, respectively, in Lorain County, Ohio.

Move to approve.

Second.

Discussion?

Yeah, go ahead.

And this tax, as we indicated earlier, we received very little response from anybody, although some of you were gracious enough to help us separate these two taxes. But my position on this is fueled by two points. And number one is the cost of this and the burden of this is enormous. There's no rationale, there's no formula, and there's no process in place. While there's a small difference between the 16 school districts and how the homestead exemption affects those 16 districts, This exemption has no structure either where the money comes from or where it goes. And as a result, I think it was actually a very poor opportunity that we had, but we wanted to give tax relief. We were hearing that message at that time. The other issue is that the state of Ohio has done this. They've taken care of this particular tax and they've created a schedule to bring that relief that we gave temporarily last year. And we can only hope and pray that the legislature, with the help of the school districts and other citizens, tackle taking care of the seniors, but not at the expense of the school districts, by taking similar action through thought and legislation so that we don't have either of these issues next year.

my concern is the the initiative to dissolve property tax in general which would be devastating to all all the county municipality schools and there is no solution if there was it would have done it back in 97 98 and on and they have not so that's what i said when i was down in columbus I told everybody, what are you going to do when the money's gone? You're all complaining about this piggyback, and you're not even complaining about the grassroots, which I'm actually following, and they are going to be on the ballot next year. so what we're doing this year i don't think is really as big as what's going to happen next year and hopefully the education what this is doing with the the media attention that we're getting not only here but in all the other counties will help educate the public that it's not just the property taxes or if they're gone it's not just the it's going to be the schools the fire the police municipalities

Children's service every mental health veteran services There's a whole I mean it just it could be devastating so That's all well in this part of the bill they the state legislature made corrections to it over the last Since we approved it last year's so I see some relief there for the current taxpayers I

Especially with Jennifer, what she brought up talking to Nate.

Anything further? Mr. Moore?

Yes.

Mr. Rideau?

No.

Mr. Gallagher?

No. That is it. We'll take a quick five minute break. Unless you want to stick around and watch us the rest of the meeting.

She's back there talking.

Okay, well. And we're back.

Look at her.

I know. Please, our social butterfly.

Yeah, we wait.

Go ahead.

Under Sanitary Engineer 11, entering an emergency contract with Buckeye Pumps, Inc. for the replacement of a Meyer submersible pump at the Middle Ridge Road lift station in the amount of $15,214 will be paid from the sanitary repair account.

Move to approve. Second.

Discussion? Commissioner Moore? Aye. Commissioner Gallagher? Aye. Commissioner Riddell? Aye. 12. Authorize Lorain County Sanitary Engineering Department to apply for and utilize a credit card in the amount not to exceed $5,000 in accordance with the Ohio Rice Code 301.27 Lorain County Commissioner's Credit Card Policy.

Move to approve. Second.

Discussion? Commissioner Gallagher? Aye. Commissioner Moore? Aye. Commissioner Riddell?

Aye.

Transit 13 authorized filing of an application with the Ohio Department of Transportation for a workforce mobility partnership program to establish a mobility brokerage and support transit in Vermilion and Vermilion Township in the amount of $860,000 due to Sandusky Transit terminating the service.

Moving to approve. Second.

Discussion?

Sure. Karen, would you like to explain what happened here?

Sure. So Sandusky Transit notified the city of Vermillion that it was no longer able to provide transportation services for their residents and the seniors and those that need public transportation. So they did reach out to Lorain County Transit and we've had numerous discussions and Vermilion is always an interesting town to help. So because the city of Vermilion is partially in Lorain County and partially in Erie County, we were able to offer immediate assistance with Dial-a-Ride and some paratransit services for those residents that are in Lorain County. However, we did need to get some additional funds and some from ODOT in order to be able to service the residents that are in Erie County and then be able to transport between those two over the line, back and forth and over the line in Vermillion.

And that's, I mean, Sandusky Transit's fine with that?

Yes.

And we can't get Cuyahoga to do the same?

You know, we've been trying.

I'm just doing a little dig on Cuyahoga.

You know, I mean, I believe we did put in a grant request that would allow us to extend a route to North Ridgeville, right on Lorain Road there, where the college is.

What's it, like a football field or two? Yeah, yeah.

And in that request, we've actually asked for a little bit more money so that we could get to that Cuyahoga County line.

Okay.

and meet up with GRTA.

So is this, have you talked to them? I mean, do you know the numbers and the ridership? Does Sandusky have that type of information?

Yes, yes, we did get all that information. I don't know off the top of my head. Oh, that's okay. I just want to know. And I will say that the city of Vermillion is working with us on some local match along with some of their other nonprofits. So it's kind of been our new way of... being able to provide service to others who are asking for it. So yeah, we have the ability to get the federal grants and the state grants, but we're always looking for that local match. And the communities have stepped up and they're saying, hey, we can help you with that. So it's worked out pretty well so far.

You talked to them about VIA at all?

We've had some preliminary conversations with VIA.

I mean, they're right next to Lorraine and I'm wondering if, I don't know if they know where the riders are going?

We don't have that much data to know if they have a large enough ridership and a large enough region to support something like that.

Okay, well, good job.

Thank you. Anything further?

Mr. Moore? Aye.

Mr. Gallagher?

Aye. Mr. Riddell? Aye.

14, authorize various filing of applications without doubt for fiscal year 27 transportation assistance grants.

Move to approve.

Second. Discussion. Mr. Moore.

Aye. Mr. Gallagher. Aye. Mr. Riddell. Aye.

Solid waste 15. Approve the issuance of waivers for designation pursuant to a standard formal waiver agreement effective retroactive January 1st, 26 through December 31st of 27 for the following companies. Rumpke of Northern Ohio Inc., Kimbo Recycling and Disposal Inc., Waste Management of Ohio Inc., and Pete and Pete Container Service Inc. Move to approve.

Second.

Discussion.

Yes.

Yes.

As I indicated the last time this issue was on the agenda, my primary concern here is that we are negotiating our host agreement with Republic. And in fact, it has expired. Now on top of that we learned since our last meeting that the host agreement expired last December and actually is being honored by both sides today but had expired and as you can see by this resolution it seeks to go back to January 1st of this year. As a negotiating situation, this waiver has value not only to residents, not only to other haulers, but also to Republic themselves. And I think it's a little sloppy, if not downright inappropriate, that the commissioners weigh in on a piece of a contract that's currently in negotiations. And while while there's separate the hauling is separate and those contracts are separate and and the contract for running the facility, the landfill is separate. You know, there are people who even today in the meeting have tied those 2 things together. They've tied those things together saying that rates are dependent on the fees at the landfill. Secondly, we've been informed by Republic, for what it's worth, and we heard from two of their competitors today, so I want to interject that as well, that they've tried to have discussions about bringing that rubbish to the Lorain County landfill, but they have declined to sit down and deal with Republic. And I understand those sensitivities in competition. I lived in a market with seven competitors and some of them we could talk to rationally and some of them we couldn't. And so at the end of the day, I'm concerned about these dollars leaving, being paid for by Lorain County residents, leaving the county instead of staying in the county to support the landfill, and that these dollars, if they continue to go outside the county, may end up having to come back to Republic and increase fees in future contracts because we still have a responsibility to all the residents of Lorain County to run the landfill. No landfill is a future that I don't want to see. And Republic needs to stay economically viable at the landfill because 15 years is not a long time. Many issues, you know, people think that that's a long time going down the road, but I can tell you that commissioners today are dealing with issues that have been kicked down the road for 15 to 20 years. So my issue on this one, and it will be reflected in my vote, is that I think it's a poor time to do this. And I think if we want to take, I would entertain a motion to continue it to January 1st of 27 to allow negotiations to complete themselves and for the issue to be thoroughly vetted. This is no disrespect to the other competitors, but if we have a situation where we're taking dollars outside the county, but we're not allowing those same people to help us keep those dollars, And as a trucker, I know what it costs to haul stuff and I can't believe we're passing by the closest landfill. So I would entertain some support from the board if they wanted to, in as much as we're already doing it since January and we're honoring it, if we want to do a little housekeeping, and continue it to January 1 of 27 and allow our team to complete this contract that has expired by not taking something out of their hand that has value. The fact that it has value to Republic means our team can get something for that.

And Commissioner Riddell was speaking in regards to 15 years. That's the life expectancy of our landfill. That's what she was referencing.

When it comes to this, my decision is going to be based on a couple things. Number one, I've expressed in many meetings that I'm not a single-bid contract type person. I like competition because it keeps the price fair. And this looks like an opportunity where, you know, if I'm not here to watch or one of the other commissioners isn't here to watch, to make sure the right thing is being done, this could be catastrophic for raising prices. That's number one. Number two, I had concerns that there were some communities that weren't even bid on by the current facility. So those are two very important things to me. If they want all the trash, they should be bidding on all the trash. They weren't bidding on it all. So unfortunately, that's going to make my decision what it is. Thank you.

Anything further? Mr. Moore? Aye. Mr. Gallagher?

Aye.

Mr. Riddell?

Nay.

Stormwater Management 16 proposed Lorain County Stormwater Management drainage district improvement to be constructed within the drainage district for Curtis Ditch Community Grand Project in Penfield Township. Hearing will be at 4.30 p.m. on July 7, 2026.

Move to approve. Second.

Discussion.

Any discussion? You're good? Okay.

Mr. Moore.

Aye.

Mr. Gallagher.

Aye.

Commissioner Riddell.

Aye.

17, enter a right of entry agreement between Lorain County Board of Commissioners and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for a temporary right of entry onto county-owned land in Columbia Township to sample the Rocky River West Branch tributary at Sprague Road.

Move to approve.

Second discussion.

Anything else? You're good.

Mr. Moore.

Aye.

Mr. Riddell.

Aye.

Mr. Gallagher. Aye. Airport 18 entered grant contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Aviation for fiscal year 26 in the amount of $500,000 to rehab the main apron phase 3 Lorain County Regional Airport.

Move to approve. Second.

Discussion.

Yes. Karen, do you want to add anything or?

This is ODOT Aviation funded project. There is no federal funds in this project. You may be somewhat familiar with the main apron. We've been doing it in phases. We can only ask for $500,000 at a time, so we just keep plugging away. We have one phase left, so hopefully we can get that done.

Anything further? Commissioner Moore? Aye. Commissioner Gallagher? Aye. Commissioner Riddell?

Aye.

19, award a contract to Area Blacktop Inc. Sandusky in the amount of $499,090.55 for Loring County Regional Airport Rehab Main Apron Project Phase 3. Two bids received, this being the most responsive, complying with specifications. Issue notice to proceed effective on or before June 15th and to complete said contract on or before September 4th of 26th. 95% of this project is funded by ODOT, Office of Aviation, and will be paid for in an airport construction account.

Move to approve. Second. Discussion.

You're good? Okay.

Mr. Moore. Aye. Mr. Gallagher. Aye. Mr. Riddell. Aye. Engineer authorized Lorain County Engineer's Office to apply for and utilize a credit card in the amount not to exceed $5,000 in accordance with the Ohio Rights Code 301.27 Lorain County Credit Card Policy.

Move to approve. Second. Discussion? Commissioner Moore? Aye. Commissioner Gallagher? Aye. Commissioner Riddell?

Aye.

Probate create fund 2890 AOT. No, sorry. Yes. AOT New Journey Court Fund for Lorain County Probate Court. This new fund assisted outpatient treatment will be for grant funds received from the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health.

Move to approve. Second. Second.

Discussion? Mr. Moore?

Aye.

Mr. Gallagher? Aye. Mr. Riddell?

Aye.

Sheriff 22, reject a tentative agreement between Lorain County Sheriff and Lorain County Deputy Association in affiliation with the Fraternal Order of Police Association, Ohio Labor Council, Inc., Deputy Unit, expected January 1st to 26th through December 31st to 28th.

Move to approve.

Second. Discussion?

Yes. The Lorain County Board of Commissioners will be voting to reject the tentative collective bargaining agreement recently submitted for review involving Lorain County Deputies Association. This decision was not made lightly. The board has responsibility to ensure that all collective bargaining agreements are thoroughly reviewed for their financial impact on county operations and taxpayers before approval. Historically, a Commissioner's representative is included in the negotiation process. However, we were not offered the opportunity to participate by the Sheriff's Office. In addition, past proposed agreements submitted for the Board for review have been accompanied by detailed cost projections summaries of proposed changes and supporting information necessary to fully evaluate both immediate and long-term obligations in this case none of the documents were submitted and the board determined that additional information and discussions are needed before it can responsibly consider approval of the agreement The board's action is not intended to end discussions. Rather, it provides an opportunity for county representatives and the sheriff's office to address outstanding concerns and assure that any agreement ultimately approved is fiscally responsible, sustainable, and in the best interest of both county employees and taxpayers. Representatives of the board will be communicating with the Sheriff's Office regarding these concerns. And out of respect for the collective bargaining process, the board will have no further comment at this time. Thank you.

Call the vote. Mr. Moore.

Aye.

Mr. Riddell. Aye. Mr. Gallagher. Aye. Mr. Perkins.

Do you have anything?

We have no update. Thanks. And I have nothing. Board correspondence.

Move to waive the reading of the board correspondence.

Second. Discussion. Mr. Moore. Aye. Mr. Gallagher. Aye. Mr. Riddell. Aye.

New business.

Nothing.

I don't have public comment. Sandra Jensen. Do you want to speak again? OK. Hello again.

Hello again, Sandra Jensen, 617 Lafayette Boulevard, Sheffield Lake. Adult protective services intake for the last ten years, $17.77 an hour. I want to apologize if I bored you at the last meeting. I had been inspired by the churches reading the Bible out front a couple weeks ago. I thought they were providing a service. And my goal was to simply read the alphabetical list of all the salaries at the job and family services, including, I mean, everybody. Just to provide, just to raise an awareness of who makes what and what their title is and how many years they've been employed. Because if you just look at that, I mean, there are some disparities. It's just like highs and lows and things that just don't make any sense. and we're all broke I mean that's just a fact the schools everyone's everyone's on a tight budget and you keep talking about tightening your belt and I've gained weight on the picket line so I don't even need a belt anymore that's the fact but we are human beings you three are all business people you know you own a concrete business and a mortgage business and a tanning business and you all have employees and so i mean you know what it's like to have people we we have jobs we're doing a service and if you could just come back to the table just I don't know what to say. Bring some pizza, bring some donuts, maybe sugar-free. It's a decent thing to do, because this has gone on a long time. And I'm at the point where I might just look for another job. I might just take an early retirement. I don't know. I mean, meanwhile, I'm going kayaking this afternoon instead of going to the job and family services, but let's come back to the table. Let's be decent human beings. Even if we just talk about what you did over the weekend, let's have a dialogue, okay? Thanks, Sandra. Thanks.

Thanks, Sandra. Shawna, Hatfield?

good morning i'd like to start by making a comparison and pay of two of our employees in the exact same position of investigator one more commonly referred to as child support caseworker cassidy smarsh hired in 25 she makes 16.89 an hour michelle ramos hired in 98 28 years ago making 22.77 an hour that is a difference of only five dollars and ninety cents an hour it blows my mind michelle's been employed in the same position for 27 years longer but is making less than six dollars an hour more than cassidy and not even employed a year that's a problem Michelle can't just quit her job at this point. We can't afford investments for retirement. So she's counting on her county employee retirement. She has nothing to fall back on. Just because we have people at JFS with hearts and enjoy helping others doesn't mean we need to be paid poverty wages. That's a problem. many of us are eligible for the very benefits we process me myself the state of ohio determined that my employer provided insurance is not available to me at a reasonable cost i am the medical insurance obligor for my two children however i was not required to add my children to my insurance and had to remove them when the premiums increased the first time my children are eligible for and receive medicaid that's a problem JFS employees provide assistance to the most vulnerable, and that includes ourselves. These are the people you employ. That's a problem. Rydell, you were quoted as saying, well, don't take the job. And also, where does it say, if you don't like your pay, you're allowed to reduce your participation? Well, to answer that, it's stated in ORC section 4117.03 and .08. My question to you is, you took a job where you're required to bargain with county agencies. So where does it say if you just don't want to bargain, you don't have to? So I say the same to you. If you don't like the job description as a commissioner, don't take the job. Nobody likes the hypocrite. You have an employee in charge of the budget whose pay went up $50,000 over four years in the same position. We can't have a dollar-based pay increase. Make it make sense. Please go back to the table and negotiate a wage that is fair to us, gets us at least closer to being out of poverty, and gives us our retro pay for the work we've already done so we can get back to work and do the job not currently being efficiently done at the agency. waiting us out isn't working it's only making us stronger because who are we thank you okay thank you thank you jennifer burda there's two more left okay

Good afternoon. Good afternoon.

My name is Jennifer Verda. I'm from Lorain, Ohio. I also want to talk about the union strike. Getting back to Commissioner Verdell's question about why do we take the job if we don't like the pay, when I took this job 29 years ago, it paid a living wage. Now, with inflation in gas, food, utilities, and everything else, plus the 30% increase in insurance premiums in just the last two years, that's no longer true. Although they did, the spending on executive positions has increased by $14 million in just the last five years alone. Also on May 8th, Commissioner Riddell posted a scale of the average for each position at the agency. Those numbers were greatly inflated. The average price for my position is exactly what I earn now after 29 years of service. So you can imagine how much less new hires or those with less seniority earn. We are still in the lowest paid counties in Ohio. We still have people that qualify for food stamps and Medicaid after working a 40 hour job. Uh, also on May 8th, Commissioner Riddell said that either the new hires would be adjusted by 20% or to match rates in the chart. Now, that is an improvement over the last contract they offered. But since then, no one has reached out to the union. And when the union reached out to your representatives, those calls were not returned. We all want to get back to work. We want to get back to work. You want us to get back to work. The community needs us to get back to work. Only you can solve this impasse by not agreeing to talk to us. That is not negotiating. That is not governance. That is not doing your job. Only you can end this by coming back to the table and negotiating in good faith. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. William Zimmerman, did you want to come again? Okay. Check both boxes.

Yes, always do.

Yep.

William Zimmerman, beautiful Avon Lake. So as I've sat through the meeting again today and I hear about the fact that we're going to file an application to get $860,000 for transit per million because Sandusky says we don't want to do it anymore. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I don't know if it's cost effective. I don't know if it's worth the investment. I understand it's just the filing of an application.

Just like number 14.

authorized various filings of applications for ODOT. That is so vague that it doesn't describe anything. That's not clarity. That's not transparency. I don't understand why you need to hide that. Shouldn't be that difficult to print it out properly so that we as citizens have the right to know. So I also have not yet still received my oral public request from Mr. Riddell weeks and weeks ago, followed by the chart that was shown up on the screen. Haven't received those. Mr. Moore, you and I had conversation. I gave you my phone number. I've still yet to receive a phone call weeks and weeks before you went to Vegas. So I don't understand how hard it is. I call people all the time, all day long. Not that difficult. So my last statements will be, why are you guys, the three of you, the commissioners, in so many litigations? You choose to litigate almost everything instead of just moving forward and trying to get an answer and get things resolved and move on. This is ridiculous. You've spent more money on attorney fees than you have on most of the other things in the budget. All the cuts that you made from all the other agencies, you've used the money for a legal fee.

Thank you. Gerald, you good or you want to? I know he's sleeping after the meeting, I see. That's why I don't have the cameras on you anymore, Jerry.

Can I get my extra seconds?

Yeah. You're the last one.

Gerald Phillips, Avon Lake. Recently, over the last week, I've been pondering documents related to New Russia Township and changes in their recent zoning map. It's interesting how the changes in the zoning map kind of correspond to this agenda of the mega site. And it's also coincidental, maybe, but on the Lorain County Planning Commission, the commissioners can either be there or have a designee. In a number of the meetings, the commissioners show up. And the airport got rezoned all to industrial park, which seems kind of coincidental because that'll help the mega site. And all this was going on while Mr. Armbruster or Catherine Perkins was filing the application to the Jobs Ohio to get the $67.4 million. So it seems like rather than that zoning being done properly, it was influenced by the commissioners. Now, it's more ironic is she represents you, she represents the township. There's a conflict of interest. I can't represent one client and another client. She has two clients, you and the townships. So that's been a problem in the county. That should be changed. Thank you.

You're welcome. Karen, do you represent townships?

I think he meant Lee.

He meant Lee. Oh, okay. Oh, he meant you? Okay. Yeah, the prosecutor. Oh, well, you said Karen Perkins.

No, he said Catherine. That's my sister. Oh, that's your sister's name? Okay.

She sent the application. Okay. Okay. Well, thanks. You even kept it under two minutes. Yeah, go ahead if you want to address it.

Normally we don't respond, but they'll... Robert's Rules does not allow it. Well, I'm trying to give you... Robert's Rules does not allow it. You say you're going to abide by Robert's Rules...

Okay, thank you. Go ahead, Jeff.

And send it in writing.

Yep.

Thank you.

We'll make the motion for the executive session. That's our rule. Recess an executive session. I probably shouldn't have said it. I was trying to be nice to you. Oh, why do you waste your time?

I waste my time.

Commissioner Moore. Aye. Commissioner Gallagher. Aye. Commissioner Rodeo. Aye.

And we are back. Thank you for waiting. We are adjourned. Have a good weekend.