Medina, after 4-plus hour meeting, will look at options for selling new fire truck
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.
