File photo by Tom Rivers: The Village of Medina is accepting bids for a new pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek on Maple Ridge Road. The project also includes sidewalks in that area.

MEDINA – The Village of Medina is accepting construction bids for a pedestrian bridge over Oak Orchard Creek on Maple Ridge Road, a long-awaited project that also includes about a half mile of sidewalks.

The village in 2021 was awarded a $1,094,196 grant to construct the bridge and sidewalks as part of a multi-use path for pedestrians and bicycles. The funding was awarded by the state through a federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant.

That is covering 80 percent of the project. The remaining 20 percent will be paid locally from the village, Town of Shelby, Orleans County and Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The section of Maple Ridge Road by the creek has become busier with a housing development, several new businesses and also the GCC campus center. There are also about 200 available acres in the area being promoted for development by the EDA.

Mayor Marguerite Sherman said the project will make it much safer for residents and cyclists along that stretch of Maple Ridge. The spot by the creek, in particular, has a very narrow space for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge will be north of the busy road.

Contractors need to turn in their bids by 3 p.m. on Feb. 18 at the Village Office. At that time the bids will be opened and read aloud.

The sidewalks will go 200 feet east of the Intersection of Maple Ridge Road (NY 31A) and South Main Street (NY 63), and then to 1,900 feet east of the intersection of Maple Ridge Road (NY 31A) and South Main Street (NY 63).

Board could include election change as referendum on March 18 ballot

Photo by Tom Rivers: Jess Marciano, a Medina village trustee and the deputy mayor,  speaks during Thursday’s board meeting about moving the village election from the third Tuesday in March to the third Tuesday in June.

MEDINA – The village could move back its election by three months to June. Holley, Brockport and other villages have their elections the third Tuesday in June, rather than the third Tuesday in March.

If that happens in Medina, the terms for trustees and mayor would start on July 1, rather than April 1. Moving the start back would give trustees and the mayor some time to adjust to the their roles on the Village Board rather than face the big task of putting together the village budget at the immediate start of their terms, said Jess Marciano, a village trustee who is suggesting the change.

The board has several extra meetings in April as it works with department heads to put together a budget that must be adopted by April 30.

“This is incredibly unfair,” Marciano said at Thursday’s board meeting.

The town and county elected officials begin their terms on Jan. 1, after the budgets have been adopted by the prior administrations. Board of Education members start their terms on July 1, after the budgets have been adopted.

If the Village Board terms started on July 1, instead of April 1, the Village Board members would have months to gain a deeper understanding of the village government by the time it’s budget season.

“It would give people more of an opportunity to get their feet underneath them before setting the village tax rate which affects everyone in the village,” Marciano said.

A later village election also would give candidates better weather to be collecting petitions to get on the ballot. Right now that needs to be done in early February. The candidates then go door-to-door campaigning in some rough weather.

A June election would give the process better weather conditions when more residents are also around to vote in person.

The board will need to decide next month if it wants to put the issue on the ballot for a referendum during the March 18 election. (This year’s election is the third Wednesday in March. It was moved back a day due to St. Patrick’s Day.)

Board members on Thursday said they were willing to discuss the issue more on Feb. 9 and Feb. 23. The board needs to decide by Feb. 23 if the issue will be on the ballot for March 18.

“I’m not sold on it, but I’m open to talking about it,” said Trustee Deb Padoleski.

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Stearns/Principal of Clifford Wise Intermediate School – Lee Teitsworth, senior vice president at Liberty Balloons in Groveland, brought a hot air balloon to Clifford Wise Intermediate School on Friday and let students go inside it. This group includes fifth- and sixth-graders. Teitsworth also spoke with third- and fourth-graders.

Information courtesy of Medina Central School

MEDINA – Students in grades 3–6 at Clifford Wise Intermediate School celebrated their academic efforts and success for Marking Period 2 on Friday with an unforgettable, sky-high experience.

As part of the celebration, Liberty Balloons visited the school with a presentation – “The Sky Is the Limit” – encouraging students to keep reaching for their goals while learning the science behind hot air ballooning. The interactive program combined motivation with hands-on learning, giving students a closer look at how hot air balloons work and the physics that allow them to soar.

Lee Teitsworth discusses the science behind hot air balloons taking flight.

Students first viewed an informational presentation explaining the principles of hot air balloon flight, including how heated air creates lift and how propane burners are used to control altitude. The excitement continued in the Wise gymnasium, where a real hot air balloon was fully inflated, on its side, indoors. Students were given the rare opportunity to sit inside the balloon, experiencing its size and structure up close.

To complete the experience, students briefly stepped outside—just under five minutes—to safely observe the lighting of the propane flames, a dramatic highlight that brought the science lesson to life.

Remax Reality and the Clifford Wise Student Council sponsored the event. For more information on Liberty Balloons, click here.

These third- and fourth-graders see a brief outdoor presentation.

Majority of board believes used fire truck with no fire hall addition makes most sense

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Medina Village Board moved its meeting on Thursday evening to the high school auditorium due to a larger crowd expected as the board tries to determine whether it will put a new ladder truck into service and put an addition on the fire hall for the new truck. From left include Village Trustee Debbie Padoleski, Trustee Jess Marciano, Clerk/Treasurer Jada Burgess, Mayor Marguerite Sherman, Trustee Mark Prawel, Trustee Scott Bieliski and Village Attorney Matt Brooks.

MEDINA – In a meeting that stretched more than four hours, Village Board members and the pubic debated on Thursday night whether to keep a $1.7 million ladder truck for the fire department and put an addition on the fire hall.

Three of the board members – Debbie Padoleski, Mark Prawel and Scott Bieliski – voted to have the board pursue options to sell the new truck and see if a used ladder truck is available that would fit in the existing fire hall.

That trio of trustees said the new truck and an addition is too costly for the community where many residents are already overwhelmed by taxes.

Padoleski said the truck and addition would raise the village tax rate by at least $1 per $1,000 of assessed property, and it would be a 20-year commitment to pay off the truck and addition.

Bieliski noted that Medina in March 2023 agreed to pay $1,698,995 to Pierce Manufacturing  in Appleton, Wisc. for a new fire truck with a 100-foot-long ladder. It took nearly three years for the truck to be manufactured. It hasn’t been put into service yet.

Since Medina’s contract nearly three years ago, the costs for ladder trucks have continued to escalate. The Albion Joint Fire District on Aug. 14 voted to buy a new ladder truck at a cost of $2,480,698 from Pierce Manufacturing.

Bieliski said he will reach out to a broker to see if there is interest in Medina’s new truck and at what price. He expects the truck could command $2 million, which would allow Medina to pay off its loan for the truck and have extra money to pursue a used ladder truck.

If Medina would take a loss on selling the truck, Bieliski said it shouldn’t be sold.

Village resident Brian Wiesinger speaks during Thursday’s board meeting. About 150 people attended the meeting that stretched more than four hours, starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 10:20. Wiesinger said the village should look at a more affordable option with a ladder truck.

Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman and Trustee Jess Marciano said they remain committed to keeping the new ladder truck and putting on a one-bay addition.

Marciano noted the fire hall addition and upgrades were cut from about $6 million to just over $1 million.

Sherman said she continues to seek grants and assistance with the addition. She met last week with representatives from U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney. The village needs more detailed drawings and cost estimates for the addition to move forward with seeking grants, Sherman said.

She hasn’t been able to get the majority of the board’s support to hire a firm for those cost estimates.

Village resident Robin Wehling said she supports giving the Medina firefighters the equipment they need to best serve the community. She said the new ladder truck would account for a 48-cent in the tax rate.

Trustees and Padoleski and Bieliski said the cost of the addition puts the total expense for the new truck closer to about $4 million when financing is included over 20 years. They said that amounts to about $1 more in the tax rate.

(Left) Jason Cogovan said he supports the Medina Fire Department but it needs to be at an affordable level for the community. “It’s about delivering services in a responsible way,” he said. He suggested going to a volunteer fire department and looking at contracting for EMS services.

(Right) Village resident Linda Limina, who is also a Shelby town councilwoman, said the Medina board needs to reach out to neighboring towns about helping to pay more for services provided by the village.

“Village residents shouldn’t be the only ones funding the service,” she said.

She worries the added debt from the ladder truck and addition will push village taxes even higher.

Medina firefighter Steve Miller said the Village Board has known for many years the fire hall needed upgrades and that a new ladder truck wouldn’t fit in the current building.

He said the board hasn’t been properly planning for the fire department for more than a decade.

Trustee Bieliski told Miller and the firefighters in attendance they were using “fear-mongering” to pressure the board into keeping the truck and putting on an addition.

Miller said not getting the new ladder truck could result in higher insurance costs for residents and businesses if Medina’s ISO rating is negatively impacted.

He also said there could be delays in response times if the community needs to wait for a ladder truck from elsewhere.

“This is not a scare tactic,” Miller said. “This is simply the truth.”

Trustee Debbie Padoleski, left, says Medina is bearing too much of the expense for fire protection and EMS services in the community.

Padoleski said data from 2024 shows Medina’s ladder truck only was used for 33 calls, with 12 inside the village and 21 outside.

“The Village of Medina taxpayers cannot and should not subsidize mutal aid in the county,” Padoleski said.

Medina’s Ladder 40 is 30 years old and has been out of service since June due to mechanical issues.

The village put it up for sale and sold it for $8,700 at Thursday’s meeting. It was listed online for sale through an auction company. Trustee Mark Prawel wanted to oppose the sale but the title had already been signed over and the deal done without a final village vote. Prawel thought the old truck was worth more than $8,700.

In the future, the board said none of the sales from items declared surplus will be finalized until a board vote to approve the sale.