Site at former Medina Savings & Loan will become ESL in 2026

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Generations Bank on Tuesday presented $50,000 in grants to nine non-profit organizations. Eight of them received $5,000 each and one other, Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, was awarded $10,000.

Pictured from left in front include: Debbie Taylor, fire chief of East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company; Samantha Covis, assistant direct at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library; AG Cutrona, executive vice president and chief banking officer of Generations Bank; Angela Krezmer, CEO of Generations Bank; Jim Hancock, treasurer of the Medina Emergency Food Pantry; and Amy Crandall, assistant vice president and market manager of Orleans County at Generations Bank.

Back row: Patty Coffee, director of People for Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) of Orleans County; Mary Zelazny, treasurer of Knights Kaderli Memorial Fund; Renee Hungerford, CEO of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee; Andrew Houseman, senior program director of the Orleans County YMCA; Steve Winans, volunteer for Operation Honor; Howie Gardner, member Board of Directors at Generations Bank; Megan Johnson, executive director of Orleans Community Health Foundation; Cindy Hewitt, vice president (Orleans County) of Generations Bank; Derek Dyson, senior vice president and chief information officer of Generations Bank.

This is the third year Generations has offered the $50,000 in grants to non-profits. In prior years, the funds were disbursed to organizations near Seneca Falls and Union Springs. Generations will become ESL Federal Credit Union with a target date of Jan. 1.

ESL is acquiring the assets of Generations Bank. The two organizations announced an acquisition deal in September 2024.

Generations merged with the former Medina Savings & Loan in 2018. Generations is based at Seneca Falls and has nine locations including a site in Medina on Maple Ridge Road.

Angela Krezmer, CEO of Generations Bank, said Generations wanted to give back to the non-profit organizations that serve many people in Orleans County. Generations was able to access the funds through the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

The nine grant recipients are: Community Action of Orleans and Genesee (Albion), East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company (Medina), Knights Kaderli Memorial Fund (Medina), The Lee Whedon Memorial Library (Medina), Medina Emergency Food Pantry (St. Peters Lutheran Church), Operation Honor (Medina), Orleans Community Health Foundation Inc. (Medina), Orleans County YMCA (Medina), and People for Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) of Orleans County (Albion).

Erik Fix (left), executive director of GLOW YMCA, and Andrew Houseman, senior program director of the YMCA in Orleans County, accept the grant from Howie Gardner, a board member for Generations.

Fix said the $5,000 will support services for community members, regardless of ability to pay, including scholarships for individuals and families to use the Y on Pearl Street.

Kristina Ettinger, left, community services manager at Community Action, and Renee Hungerford, CEO of Community Action, said the $5,000 grant will help the agency that faces significant uncertainty with its federal funding. The $5,000 will support essential needs, including food, rental and utility assistance.

East Shelby Fire Chief Debbie Taylor and President Mike Fuller accept $5,000 on behalf of the fire company from AG Cutrona, executive vice president and chief banking officer.

East Shelby plans to use the money for a new set of turnout gear and other personal protective equipment and tools.

The Knights Kaderli Memorial Fund, which assists Orleans County residents battling cancer, received $5,000. The fund has been assisting local families for more than 30 years, helping people with some of their bills. Pictured from left include Kevin Kaderli, Laura Marek, Mary Zelazny, Mike Zelazny and Brad Jones, the Generations chairman of the board.

Patty Coffee, director of the PAWS Animal Shelter, accepts a grant and a gift from Amy Crandall, assistant vice president and market manager of Orleans County at Generations Bank. Angela Krezmer, CEO of Generations Bank, is in back. The $5,000 will cover veterinary costs for animals to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated.

Marc Shurtz, CEO of Orleans Community Health, and Megan Johnson, director of the OCH Foundation, accept $5,000 from Howie Gardner, a Generations board member. The grant will go towards expanding services and healthcare access at OCH.

Steve Winans, a volunteer with Operation Honor, accepts a $5,000 grant for the organization that assist veterans with some of their bills and also contributions to a medical van transport service. AG Cutrona, executive vice president and chief banking officer, presents the grant.

Jim Hancock, left, thanks Generations Bank for the $5,000 grant to the Medina Emergency Food Pantry, which is based at St. Peter Lutheran Church. The money will allow the food pantry to acquire food during a time of decreased donations.

More photos will be posted soon.

One trustee says board not consistent in weighing in on resolutions that could be deemed ‘political’

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board approved a resolution in support of the “Energy Choice Act,” which would prohibit New York and other governments from banning natural gas in new construction.

Congressman Nick Langworthy has proposed the bill in Congress. The Orleans County Legislature on Sept. 23 voted in support of the Langworthy bill. The County Legislature is asking other local governments to back the proposal.

The Medina Village Board agreed, in a 4-1 vote, on Monday evening. Trustee Jess Marciano cast the lone opposing vote.

She referred to a meeting in June when the Village Board declined to vote on a resolution in support of keeping Job Corps centers open. Some board members said then they didn’t want to weigh in on resolutions of support on an issue, saying it could be construed as political.

Marciano said she was surprised the board wouldn’t take up a resolution in support of Job Corps but instead would rally behind the legislation proposed by Langworthy, a Republican from Erie County and former chairman of the Republican Party in New York State.

New York’s law against natural gas for new construction is set to start in 2026 and be phased in by 2028. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the majority of the State Legislature say limiting natural gas will help reduce carbon emissions.

Village Trustee Scott Bielski was one of the votes in support of the Langworthy legislation.

“It would be detrimental to the Village of Medina,” Bielski said about prohibiting natural gas on new construction. “It would hurt housing growth in Medina.”

Langworthy said the state’s stance against natural gas limits energy choices and will increase costs for consumers.

This photo posted by the Firematic Supply Company shows a new ladder truck being built for the Medina Fire Department. The photos, which were posted Oct. 17, offered a weekly progress report on the truck. Firematic, a dealer for Pierce Manufacturing, reported that the torque box was merged on the chassis followed by body installation at the start of initial apparatus assembly. The next report may show completed initial assembly and the beginning of the final assembly.

MEDINA – A new concern has emerged with the village’s quest to acquire a new ladder truck: Will the federal government be functioning to approve the loan to pay for the truck?

Medina is getting close to receiving a new ladder truck from Pierce Manufacturing in Wisconsin. The truck was scheduled to be delivered to the Medina in December, but it looks more likely for January, said Fire Chief Steve Cooley. Village officials were aiming to have a new addition on the fire hall to accommodate the new truck, which won’t fit in the existing building. The truck is taller and will need more clearance.

Medina is now looking at keeping it in the DPW building in the short-term while the board mulls how to handle housing the truck long-term.

The payment for the truck is a new worry for the Village Board.  The federal government shutdown, now in its third week, could hold up financing for the new truck. Medina in June 2023 agreed to pay Pierce Manufacturing $1.7 million for the ladder truck.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved financing at a 4 percent interest rate for a loan for the truck. The USDA payment would be made when the truck is delivered.

However, the village would need a functioning federal government to access and get approval for the money to be paid to Pierce.

“We’re depending on the federal government to be open because that is who our loan is through,” Mayor Marguerite Sherman said during this evening’s Village Board meeting.

Village Clerk-Treasurer Jada Burgess told the Village Board that the Medina’s financial consultant advised the village to begin the process of seeking a loan from a private bank for the truck. The village could put the financing out to bid to see what lenders would be willing to charge Medina with an annual interest rate. Right now, that rate is unknown, Burgess said.

Switching to a private lender could be a $15,000 to $20,000 charge by hiring a bond counsel, and that doesn’t include interest rates that are expected to be higher than the 4 percent from USDA, she said.

Medina could initially use a loan from a bank and then pay off that loan with the one from the USDA if the federal loan can’t be accessed on time. But the village would still incur some expenses for bond counsel and the initial elevated payment(s) if the loan is at a higher rate than what is offered by USDA.

The slight delay on the truck’s delivery gives the Village Board more time to consider the matter, especially if the federal government shutdown continues. Burgess said it could be a six-week process to access the loan once the government reopens.

Board members said there is still more time for the shutdown to end and the government to have the funding in place before Medina would have to pursue alternative financing.