Medina candidate advocates cooperation with towns, fair share of aid from state and county

Editor:

My name is Todd Bensley and I am running for trustee in the Village of Medina. To give you my background, I grew up in Medina and graduated from Medina High School. After going to college, starting a career in teaching, and getting married, my wife and I decided to purchase our first home in Medina. We chose Medina because it has great schools and is a wonderful community to raise our children.

While helping to raise our children, and teaching in the Medina School district, I have served the community in many capacities over the years. In the past I served as a youth baseball and softball coach, a board member and president of the Medina Historical Society, and board member of Lee-Whedon Library. I am currently serving on the Medina Planning Board and the Boxwood Cemetery Commission, and I am also the village historian.

What I have learned through serving the community in these various ways is that Medina truly is a great place to live, work, and play. There are many people who are dedicated to seeing Medina grow and thrive in the future. I count myself among them.

The community is well aware that although Medina is great community, it is not a perfect community. The recent push for dissolution showed just how divided a community can become. It is my hope that we can begin the healing process and focus our attention and energy on moving Medina forward, instead of consigning it to the dustbin of history.

To accomplish this, we must all come together for the greater good. There were over 900 people who came out on January 20 to say that the village of Medina matters. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that over 500 people also expressed on that day that change needs to happen. People who live, work, and play in the village need to come forward to not only express their ideas, but also to lend a helping hand in moving Medina forward.

An era of cooperation needs to begin. I have faith that the people of the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby, and their leadership, will support the continued efforts to share services where possible and economically feasible. I know that the workers employed by the village, and the village board, will continue to look for efficiencies and opportunities to generate revenue to make sure village taxpayers are getting the full value for their tax dollars.

Our efforts, however, cannot end with looking for ways to save money. We must also look to increase the tax base and raise more revenue. We must work with the Orleans County EDA to attract businesses to the Medina Industrial Park and other business-ready facilities. We need to maximize the use of retail space downtown and along Maple Ridge Road.

It is also necessary to bolster the value of our homes through filling vacancies, cleaning up the neighborhoods and re-building infrastructure, and providing recreational opportunities that help to increase home values. In addition, we must press the state to give the village its fair share of AIM funding and press the county to re-formulate its distribution of sales tax to ensure that the money is going to the areas responsible for generating sales tax revenue.

The first step to Medina’s future is for you to come out to vote on March 18 to express your love and commitment to the village of Medina. I would be honored if you would vote for me for village trustee. Then, please get actively involved in making the community an even better place to live, work, and play.

Todd Bensley
Medina