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Volume 58, No. 3
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Chesterland CHESTERLAND News NEWS Wednesday, July 15, 2026
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Abandoned Buckstop Site Set for Demo By Emma MacNiven macniven@karlovecmedia.com After sitting vacant for years, the former Buckstop property at 8491 Mayfield Road in Chester Township is one step closer to demolition. Geauga County Commissioners approved a $136,000 grant July 2 to fund asbestos remediation and demolition of the long-blighted site, paving the way for future redevelopment. Geauga County Community and Economic Development Director Gina Hofstetter and Program Director Elaine Malkamaki presented the grant request to commissioners. “This has been a long-running eyesore with serious structural and asbestos issues and getting it properly remediated and cleared will be a big win for the community,” Commissioner Carolyn Brakey said in a post on social media. “Credit goes to Chester Township Trustee Brandon Davis, who started working on this before he even officially took office, and to Geauga County's Community and Economic Development team, namely Gina and Elaine, for seeing it through.” Davis said he has been working to move the project forward for quite some time. “It was already abandoned and
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The interior of the former Buckstop property at 8491 Mayfield Road in Chester Township.
deteriorating and … it's just continued to deteriorate and collapse,” Davis said. “There's holes in the roof.” The property also contains asbestos, he said. Loreto Development Co. purchased the property in 2024 through a sheriff's sale, owner Lo-
reto Iafelice Jr. said in January. “The problem is there was a lot of stuff that we did not have knowledge of because we bought at a sheriff’s sale, including the environmental remediation that needs to be done, which is why (we applied) for the grant,” Iafelice added. Iafelice said he expects demo-
lition to take place later this year, although the timeline depends on completion of the remaining paperwork. “We envision sometime in the fall and the summer or fall this year before winter time, but we still have some paperwork stuff that we don't See Buckstop • Page 5
Chester Township Audit Finds No Compliance Issues Cash Balances up over $6.4 million Staff Report Chester Township closed out 2025 with more than $6.4 million in cash on hand and no reported instances of noncompliance or internal control weaknesses, according to a regular audit released by the Ohio Auditor of State's office. The audit, conducted by the Independence, Ohio-based firm Charles E. Harris & Associates, Inc., covered the township's finances for the years ended Dec. 31, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2024. Auditor of State Keith Faber's office reviewed and accepted the report in lieu of
a full state audit, as allowed under Ohio law, though the state does not express an opinion on the underlying financial statements. Auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the township's finances under the regulatory cash-basis accounting method Ohio law permits for local governments — the standard, expected outcome for townships that don't use full accrual-based accounting. The report also carried an adverse opinion under generally accepted accounting principles, a routine and expected distinction stemming from that same basis-of-accounting differ-
ence, not a finding of financial trouble. Critically, auditors reported no material weaknesses in internal controls and no instances of noncompliance with laws, regulations or grant agreements that would require disclosure under government auditing standards.
Financial Highlights
The township's combined governmental funds took in $9,511,689 in cash receipts during 2025 against $9,326,868 in disbursements, leaving total fund cash balances of $6,464,854 at year's end — up from $6,280,033 at the start of the year. The general fund alone collect-
ed $2,169,872 and spent $976,430, ending 2025 with a balance of $1,725,102. The township's special revenue funds, which include its road and bridge, police and fire departments, took in $7,341,817 and disbursed $8,225,446, closing the year with $4,303,976 on hand. The capital projects fund ended the year with $435,776. Property and other local taxes remained the township's largest revenue source, generating more than $7 million in 2025.
Debt
The township reported $294,547 in outstanding debt at the end of See Audit • Page 4
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