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SPIDALIERI “ TOTALLY LOST” IN REGARD TO AIRPORT’S $800,000

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Last week’s (April 15, 2025) Commissioner meeting turned into another major hearing with members of the Geauga County Airport Authority, represented by Airport Employee Ric Blamer and volunteers Greg Gyllestrom, and George “Chip” Hess. Absent last week were Mr. Airwolf John Kochy and Airport Authority member Chris Schloss. At that meeting Mr. Gyllestrom was heard to say that “we [on the Airport Authority} will agree with everything” in order to receive $800,000 from the County Commissioners. That $800,000 was updated from a motion of over $1 million to be given to the airport which failed earlier.

By yesterday’s meeting, Agenda Items 13-17 regarding the latest developments at the Middlefield Airport had changed again as a result of negotiations between the Airport Authority-- Ric Blamer, Greg Gyllestrom, George “Chip” Hess, and Chris Schloss-- and Commissioner Jim Dvorak so that the updated April 22 Agenda contained only two items related to the Middlefield Airport. In the words of Commissioner Dvorak, the negotiations which were supposed to result in an acceptable agreement “didn’t work out” because either the Prosecutor’s Office would not approve Airport Authority actions or because the Airport Authority members were unwilling to go through extra requirements placed upon them by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The two relevant items were numbers 13 and 14, which appeared to catch Commissioner Spidalieri so off-guard that he admitted to being “totally lost,” sheltering his head in his hands even after attending a record four Commissioner meetings in a row and then leaving yesterday without even voting to adjourn.

Agenda Item #13 read as follows: “The Commissioners’ Office is requesting the Board schedule a meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. in order to consider the outcome of the Middlefield Airport.

Agenda Item #14 read as follows: “The Commissioners’ Office if requesting the Board approve an encumbrance and expenditure to the Geauga County Airport Authority in the amount of $800,000 from the Airport Construction Fund for contributing funds toward the construction of a new T-Hangar at the Geauga County Airport.”

Although Financial Officer Adrian Gorton verified that the actual transfer of the $800,000 from the General Fund could possibly have happened at yesterday’s meeting, there still would have been a need for Thursday’s special meeting. At this point Spidalieri admitted feeling that “the cart is ahead of the horse. . . I am totally lost. “ The biggest contribution to this feeling of being lost is that Mr. Spidalieri had been totally unaware that the preliminary agenda had been updated by early morning, April 22.

By this time the the Airport Authority had decided that it was better to be able to borrow $800,000 at 1.5%-2.0% interest from the Commissioners, even though the cheapest interest rate that the Commissioners can get on a $800,000 principal is 5%. Ric Blamer, during the course of the discussion, claimed not to know anything about the re-negotiated terms that may come up, either passing or failing, at the special meeting of Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. This meeting will also be live-streamed for Geauga County taxpayers who cannot attend the meeting in person but want to know what is going on in their local government.

Adrian Gorton affirmed that his understanding is that the $800,000 that the Airport Authority may receive at the special Thursday meeting is to be a loan. Ric Blamer, the Airport Authority employee, confirmed that the Airport Authority is now willing to work with accepting a loan from the Commissioners within the range of 1.5-2.0% interest payback, an interest rate thought to be exceptionally advantageous. Greg Gyllestrom confirmed that the interest range is conducive to a small cash-flow.

Spidalieri voted no to the other Commissioners’ approval of the special Airport Authority meeting on Thursday, but Commissioner Brakey voted no on accepting Gorton’s financial reports to the other two Commissioners’ yes.

As of this morning, there was an announcement of the special meeting for Thursday, April 24, to discuss the Airport Authority yet again at 9:30 am

to address items and approve and execute any documents regarding the Airport Authority T-Hangar project, funding contribution of $800,000.00 towards the project and the repayment of the monies by Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration Grant application and submittal for the project and necessary paperwork and Financials. This meeting will be held at the Commissioners’ Offices at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, Ohio.

The special Thursday meeting will be live-streamed.

GEAUGA COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY REPS UNDERWRITE FREE-FOR-ALL IN SEARCH OF COUNTY TAXPAYERS’ $800K; ACCEPT CONDITIONS RATHER THAN LOSE FEDERAL FUNDS

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

At the April 1, 2025, Geauga Commissioner meeting, Commissioner James Dvorak, in labeling himself “steward of the [Geauga] taxpayers,” pledged his willingness to present a motion the following Tuesday, April 8, 2025, offering $800,000 to the Middlefield Airport so that the Geauga County Airport Authority, composed of several Airport Authority Board members, could become eligible to receive $586,000 in federal grant money to build another so-called T Hangar.

Airport Authority members and supporters had to wait until agenda Item #25, which read as follows:

“The Commissioners’ Office is requesting the Board approve and execute Resolution #25-063
Authorizing the Airport Authority to Construct a new T-Hangar at the Geauga County Airport and to Approve the Appropriation of $800,000 from the General Fund to the Airport Construction Fund for the Purpose of Contributing towards the Construction and Improvements at the Airport, in accordance with O.R.C. 308.17.”

Although representatives who come before the Commissioners are asked to state their names and functions during public session, Richard Blamer, Secretary/Treasurer of the Airport Authority could not be heard identifying himself and two other members of the AA who provided oral testimony during the same time period did not identify themselves, either, as was expected of them during public session. The identify of these individuals became known, since no one on the Board of County Commissioners asked for that important information, only when this writer and a local reporter waited until the testimony for #25 was over and each went over to the two seated gentlemen and asked them to provide the correct spelling of their names on paper for transparency and correctness. Though Greg Gyllestrom, willingly printed his name, R. Christopher (Chris) Schloss seemed to become offended and agitated, asking ”for what purpose” he should identify himself after he disrupted the meeting by calling out his thoughts from his own seat without waiting to be recognized by Commissioner Dvorak.

Please see the list of current Geauga County Airport Authority Board Members. Three of the 8 Board members are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners; currently, they are Engineer George (Chip) Hess II of Newbury; R. Christopher (Chris) Schloss of Novelty; and James Makee, Jr., of Chardon, whose term expires on December 31, 2026. On the same list, Richard Blamer is listed as “Paid Employee / Airport Manager” and “Geauga County Airport Authority Hired.”

Since the agenda item didn’t make center stage until Item #25, Airport Authority Board Members had plenty of time for their thoughts to do a slow boil because, according to Blamer, if the Airport Authority did not have funds from the Commissioners by “next week,” the opportunity to receive $586,000 in Federal Aviation Funds would disappear. Commissioner Brakey recapped the events of April 1: “Commissioner Dvorak assured me that there would be language in the resolution [Agenda Item #25] that protects the taxpayer.”

Commissioners’ Clerk Christine Blair noted that Chief Assistant Prosecutor Laura LaChapelle had returned the newly drafted resolution to her just prior to the Commissioners’ Meeting. On at least two occasions Ms. Blair referred to Agenda Item #25 as a resolution “to conditionally approve an appropriation of $800,000 from the [county]General Fund to the Airport Construction Fund for the purpose of contributing toward the construction and improvements at the airport in accordance with ORC 308.17.”

The reading included, “Whereas the [Airport] Authority is obligated inter alia to repair and maintain the facilities at the Geauga County Airport; Whereas the Commissioners approve a conditional appropriation of $800,000 from the General Fund to the Airport Construction Fund, subject to the terms and conditions herein, which will be in addition to and dependent upon receipt of a minimum of $586,000 of FAA infrastructure grant monies by the Commissioners and the Authority, which grant moneys will be used to fund the construction of a new hangar at the Geauga County Airport; Whereas the Authority may request following \ the construction of the new T Hangar at the Geauga County Airport; Whereas the Authority may request following the construction of the new T Hangar to utilize remaining funds from the $800,000 appropriations and hangar lease revenue towards other improvements at the airport.

The Authority certifies subject to the Commissioners’ approval the following to ensure accountability and transparency:
(1)The Authority shall provide quarterly reporting to the Commissioners for three years following completion of the T hangar, including copies of leases and other relevant documents, occupancy rates, rental income, and operational costs.

(2) The Authority affirms that it has complied and will continue to comply with all of the terms of the agreement.

(3) The Authority shall not authorize any salary increase for Authority staff that exceeds the annual percentage increase authorized by the Commissioners unless explicitly approved by the Commissioners.

(4) These funds shall become a loan with a 20-year-term at an interest rate of 2% compounded annually.

(5) In the event of material misrepresentation, misuse of funds, fraud, or any indication of non- is determined, the Commissioners may require immediate repayment of all funds disbursed under this resolution, with interest accruing from the date of disbursement."

Airport Authority paid employee / Airport Director, Richard (Ric) Blamer responded his lack of knowledge about the existence of “payback clause, penalty, clause, quarterly reports” and bemoaned,”[W]e’re out of money. . .the county loses money.”

Commissioner Brakey responded: “[O]ne way [for the Airport Authority] to have better cash flow would be to increase revenue; of course, I think you should increase your hangar rents; that would not cost [Geauga County] taxpayers anything and that would also increase your revenue. . .[Y]our solution is to build this hangar so you have more revenue. . .but another problem of course is that your costs are exceeding [revenues] due to extreme increases in salary expenses over three years. I think it went up 51%.”

Response from Airport Authority employee Blamer: “Who’s running the airport, the Airport Authority or [the] County Commissioners?"

Commissioner Brakey: “Well, we’re giving you money. I mean, are you going to be a choosy beggar or are you going to take the money?”

AA Employee Blamer: “A choosy beggar. . . uh, forgive me. Give me a second to think about that. That is very rude. You are talking to a bunch of volunteers that try and run an airport."

Many minutes later, an Airport Authority representative speaking with or without permission noted that Commissioners on February 4, 2025, “took the money back.”

Commissioner response to the above accusation: “[W]e [the Geauga County Commissioners] rescinded the motion.”

AA Authority: “The money was allocated to us. We met with Mr. Dvorak. . . .I‘ve spent a couple hours . . .I have over 50 emails talking about this project for the last year.”

Commissioner Clerk Christine Blair: “The request process is one week prior to the requested meeting date. The request for action needs to be submitted with all documentation in support of the project to the board for review. If they [the requests] are sent electronically they are required to be backed up with a hard copy to the [BOCC] office. To clarify, the March 7th email you are referencing was sent specifically to Mr. Dvorak and to Ms. Burhenne. It did not go to anybody else in our office so when I make the comment that I personally did not receive documentation regarding the T Hangar project, I was correct. It was not sent to me; it was not sent to the other two commissioners. If I do not receive an email, I can’t forward it on to the board.”

By this time Geauga County Airport Authority Board Vice President Greg Gyllstrom departed his seat as an attendee to to be at Airport Authority Employee Blamer’s side, where he took up Blamer’s arguments without even taking the time to identify himself or his own role as an Airport Authority Appointee. Shortly thereafter, another Airport Authority Board Member, R. Christopher (Chris) Schloss, who is BOCC Appointed, shouted comments from his seat without providing other public meeting attendees even the courtesy of his name.

Shortly thereafter attendees learned that “there were supposed to be two resolutions; there’s a very simple one” proposed by Commissioner Spidalieri for “an appropriation of $800,000 from the General Fund to the Airport Construction Fund that in addition to $586,000 FAA infrastructure grant will fund the construction of a T Hangar and improvements at the Geauga County Airport.”

Suddenly, there were two motions on the floor, “but we have to vote on whether we’ll revise Mr. Spidalieri’s motion first and then we would vote on either the amended motion or the revised motion.” In the end, Mr. Dvorak agreed to keeping four of the five conditions noted on page two of this document by eliminating #3 regarding salary requirements for Airport Authority employee Blamer.

When Airport Authority Board member(s) returned to the premise that the $800,000 appeared to be just a loan, Commissioner Brakey responded, “it says if you don’t comply by the terms then it becomes a loan.”

Airport Authority: “If we don’t spend the $800,000 [from the County General Fund] to your [BOCC’s] satisfaction, suddenly we have a loan we have to pay back.”

Commissioner Brakey: “ It’s very clear you [Geauga County Airport Authority] want no strings attached to this money. You want to spend it however you want to and you’re treating this Board’s [BOCC’s] role as some sort of nuisance for you; we have a duty to the [Geauga County] taxpayers and the people of this county.”

When Commissioner Spidalieri’s “simplified” motion failed to get a second, it came time to vote on the $800,000 transfer of funds from the General Fund with conditions imposed on the Airport Authority. Commissioners Dvorak and Brakey voted to approve the language and Spidalieri voted against the language with the following comment: “I’m not voting no to not support the airport. I’m voting no based on all of that resolution, but I think it should have been pretty much straight forward like we had spoke [sic] last in 2024 so my vote is no.”

Final vote for the conditional agreement for $800,000 from the County Commissioners to the Geauga County Airport Authority: “so the resolution was approved by a 2 to 1 vote with the removal of the number 3 condition which was regarding the salary increase but it did provide the $800,000 funding and that will be going into your construction account . . . So then we we’ll arrange those quarterly meetings so you’ll be able to come and present to the board [BOCC] what you’re doing.”

Commissioner Brakey reaffirmed that the Geauga County Airport Authority Board members “do need permission per the terms of our agreement; the agreement you signed with the Commissioners requires you to ask for permission . . .”

UPGRADES TO THE GEAUGA COUNTY SAFETY CENTER (JAIL) PER ROLL CALL APPROVAL BY THE “STATUTORY GROUP” AT 9:45 am -COMMISSIONERS’ MEETING OF APRIL 1, 2025

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

At approximately 9:45 am the Statutory Group, consisting of the three currently serving Geauga County Commissioners (Dvorak, Brakey, and Spidalieri), Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, Clerk of Courts Sheila Bevington, and Court Magistrate Randy Taylor, showed up during the April 1 public meeting to review before-demolition-and-after-renovation representations of the Safety Center’s area known as Visitation Room. The information was presented for approval by a representative of the Geauga County Maintenance Department.

On two occasions within 10 minutes, those in attendance were informed that the information in the packet presented to the six representatives of the Statutory Group were not a public record, once by Acting County Administrator Linda Burhenne and once by the Maintenance Department representative. The demolition, installation, and refurbishing plans of the former Visitation Area into a smaller Visitation Area and a 364 square foot office area could provide a threat the security of the Sheriff’s Safety Center if distributed as a public record.

When asked for questions or concerns, Sheriff Hildenbrand, with tongue-in-cheek took aim at his perception of the exorbitant cost-estimate of $150,700 to demolish ten very outdated video-phone-stations and the ceiling above them, to create just three such video-phone-stations, and a second room of 464 square feet that will serve as office space. Both areas will have new ceilings. Emphasizing that he could paint the whole area for about $5 instead of the estimated $7000, he was equally blunt about judging the $3000 ceiling work as pretty outrageous, and he had similar criticism for the cost estimate of “two steel partitions,” and “$3000 for 2 new phones” with apparently “very valuable cable to install.”

Although the Commissioners’ Room was silent, many of us found Sheriff H’s plain speech very refreshing and right at our level during these inflationary times. Bravo, Sheriff H!

It turns out that the $15,700 is a cost estimate submitted by the County Engineer’s Office. If no bids come in within 20% of that estimate, the whole job will have to be bid out again.

Sheriff H. was particularly loquacious on April Fool’s Day, explaining that technology has progressed so quickly that the Safety Center Phone Centers are a real signal of yesteryear. In fact, he continued, the Safety Center never ever experienced ten phone “visitors” at one time, not even in the beginning, and especially not in today’s world.

The stress on the more efficient utilization of the area as two rooms instead of one room is to better deal with mental health needs within the Safety Center.

Thinking ahead, Commissioner Brakey asked if the $15,700 estimate included the cost of any possible necessary building permits and was assured of that possibility.

It turns out that Probate Court Judge Timothy Grendell had also been invited for input, but neither he nor his representative had responded to the opportunity. Therefore the affirmative vote was 6. The roll-roll results were to be sent on to the Office of the Geauga County Auditor.

ELON MUSK REVEALS DOGE'S NEW TARGET — MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO GOT 'STRANGELY WEALTHY'

Monday, March 31, 2025
Updated March 31, 2025, 11:52 a.m. ET

Ryan King | New York Post

The world’s richest man is dying to figure out how lawmakers on Capitol Hill got “strangely wealthy” despite their comparatively modest public salaries.

Speaking at a town hall in Wisconsin Sunday night, Elon Musk suggested that his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will investigate how certain members of Congress have achieved generational wealth.

One attendee at the town hall had asked Musk if DOGE had uncovered evidence of funds wired from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

“They’ll [the government] send the money overseas to one NGO [non-governmental organization], then they’ll go through a bunch of them, and then I’m highly confident that a bunch of that money then comes back to the United States and lands in the pockets of the people you just mentioned,” Musk replied.

“But it is a circuitous route. It doesn’t go directly, but let’s just say that there’s a lot of strangely wealthy members of Congress where I’m trying to connect the dots of, ‘How do they become rich?'”

Rank-and-file members of Congress make $174,000 annually. Last year, Musk — whose net worth is pegged at $330 billion by Bloomberg — helped kill legislation to raise congressional pay, then later supported an increase as a means of fighting corruption.

Scores of lawmakers who have spent decades in Congress are millionaires.

Two of the wealthiest include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has a net worth of about $250 million, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), whose personal fortune hovers around $552 million.

Pelosi’s wealth largely comes from her and her venture capitalist husband Paul’s lucrative investments in companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Netflix.

Scott’s personal fortunes largely stem from his work co-founding HCA Healthcare, a company that runs hospitals and other medical facilities around Florida, and Solantic, an urgent-care clinic chain. His work on both of those companies predates his time in the Senate.

“How do they get $20 million if they’re earning $200,000 a year?” Musk further pondered. “We’re going to try to figure it out and certainly stop it from happening.”

Musk swung through Wisconsin on Sunday to rally support for Brad Schimel, a conservative Waukesha County judge, in the closely watched election for the state Supreme Court.

During his visit, Musk handed out $1 million checks to two Badger State voters. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has encouraged Wisconsin residents to sign his petition against “activist judges” to get prize money.

“I should say that the reason for the checks is that it’s really just to get attention,” Musk explained about the prize money.

“And somewhat inevitably, when I do these things, it causes the legacy media to kind of lose their minds.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race pits Schimel against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, with the winner having outsize sway over issues such as state abortion laws and redistricting.

Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is seen as politically valuable given the ongoing battles between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the GOP-controlled state legislature.

USDA PAID TO STUDY QUEER FARMERS, LATINX MASCULINITY, MORE ON TAXPAYER DIME

Sunday March 30, 2025
By Casey Harper | The Center Square

U.S. taxpayers have shelled out tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research on LGBT issues, the kind of funding now under scrutiny by the Trump administration.

The research relies on conducting interviews – in one case for $373 per Zoom call – to explore a researcher's hypothesis of widespread discrimination.

For instance, one taxpayer-funded research grant studied “queer farmers quality of life in Pennsylvania,” federal records show, one of several grants of its kind.

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Projects – a federally funded research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – paid $14,997 for the 2018 grant.

While this grant is relatively small, there are others, and critics argue the spending is a distraction from helping farmers and lowering food prices, which soared during the Biden administration alongside this kind of research funding.

The aforementioned 2018 queer farmers grant went to Pennsylvania State University for a project titled: “Sexuality and Sustainable Agriculture: Examining Queer Farmers' Quality of Life in Pennsylvania.”

The grant proposal says the topic is “woefully understudied.”

“The deeply entrenched assumption of heteronormativity in farming has excluded queer farmers from full inclusion and benefits from agriculture, even within sustainable agriculture,” the grant’s proposal abstract said.

The graduate student who assisted with the project, Michaela Hoffelmeyer, presented the findings to the Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia.

Her research highlighted some of the challenges faced by queer farmers, reporting that "findings suggest that transgender, non-binary, and women farmers faced additional hurdles" but create support networks to overcome those challenges.

Hoffelmeyer has since gone on to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, where she has become a voice in the media and public policy on LGBT issues.

Hoffelmeyer says on the university website that she applies "feminist, queer, and labor theories" in her research to "inform agricultural programming and policy on how to make shifts to support viability, well-being, and sustainability.”

The faculty advisor for Hoffelmeyer’s project, Penn State University Assistant Professor Kathleen Sexsmith, oversaw another taxpayer-funded project along the same lines.

LATINX GENDER IDENTITIES

Sexsmith's 2021-2024 grant for $14,923 was awarded during the Biden administration and was titled: “Farming as a Latinx: Analyzing how ethnic and gender identities shape Latino/a participation in sustainable agriculture in Pennsylvania.”

The grant proposal points to the shift from white farmer in the U.S. to Hispanic farmers because of immigration and takes a moment to consider Hispanic masculinity.

“How do rural Latin American masculinities become reproduced or reshaped in the U.S. as they establish themselves as sustainable farmers, and how does is it impact the ability of women and men to meet sustainable agriculture goals?” the grant’s proposal abstract reads.

The researcher conducted 40 interviews over Zoom, averaging about 45 minutes, putting the taxpayer cost at about $373 per Zoom call.

"Initially, the project aimed to interview farmers directly, but due to the difficulties in accessing this hard-to-reach population, the focus shifted to institutional perspectives," the report said.

The researcher said in the final report that Hispanic farmers suffer from systemic discrimination.

QUEER FARMERS' RELATIONSHIPS

Another $15,000 grant in the federal database is titled: “Gender, Sexuality, and Social Sustainability: Exploring Queer Farmers' Relationships, Ethics, and Practices in the Midwest.”

That 2022 grant went to the University of Notre Dame in response to a grant proposal promising to develop “a more comprehensive understanding of queer farmers' experiences.”

The proposal for that grant posited that “we still have much to learn about the specific ways that narratives which posit heterosexuality and cisgender identities as ‘normal’ continue to uphold hegemonic power dynamics within alternative agriculture.”

The research's final report said "findings show that queer farmers often struggle to find safe, supportive work or learning opportunities as a result of how other farmers, customers, and community members perceive their gender or sexuality, and even though many queer farmers having family connections to farming, they struggle to secure access to land because their family’s agricultural or social values don’t align with theirs."

The faculty advisors for all three projects did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment to The Center Square.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order upon taking office banning federal funding for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion projects, initiating a purge within the federal government.

Since then, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have been combing through federal spending records, exposing controversial taxpayer-funded projects, many of which the Trump administration has since terminated.

Musk and the Trump administration have faced legal challenges to these cuts, but the administration’s cost-cutting momentum has been fueled by examples of all kinds of controversial federal spending, particularly on DEI and LGBT issues.

The USDA said in a news release in February that it had “begun a comprehensive review of contracts, personnel, and employee trainings and DEI programs.

“In many cases, programs funded by the Biden administration focused on DEI initiatives that are contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers,” USDA added.