Medina trustee says better property maintenance would take village from a ‘B’ to an ‘A’

Resident says many people can’t afford roof projects, other costly repairs

Photo by Tom Rivers: Tim Zeiner Sr. speaks during a recent Village Board meeting when the board said it was concerned about lingering property maintenance issues in the village. From left include Trustee Jeff Wagner, Trustee Jess Marciano, Village Clerk/Treasurer Jada Burgess and Mayor Debbie Padoleski.

MEDINA – A village trustee said he wants to see more progress in the village with property owners fixing leaking roofs, painting buildings and tending to other property maintenance.

Jeff Wagner, a Village Board member, says some roofs have been covered with tarps for years. It is unsightly and unfair to neighbors and other residents to have that blighting effect, he said.

“We have to figure out how we can take this village from a B to an A,” Wagner said during last week’s board meeting.

Tim Zeiner, a Park Avenue resident, said aggressive enforcement may not be the answer because many residents are cash-strapped and can’t afford a new roof that he said can top $30,000.

“I understand the cost is prohibitive,” Wagner replied.

Code enforcement officer Dan Gardner said he issues many citations a month and tries to be reasonable in working with people to address the issues.

“Many people are long-term residents on fixed incomes,” Gardner said.

He issues tickets and many go to court, and the cases can drag on for months, even years without resolution.

Some of the residents said Gardner could use more help with code enforcement. The village used to have three part-time staff that assisted the codes officer.

Mayor Debbie Padoleski said new Police Chief Corey Black can be part of looking at the codes and seeing if police officers can help with enforcement.

“We get a lot of complaints,” Padoleski said about some of the problem properties.

Wagner would like to see more improvements among the home and building owners.

“I’m not talking about throwing people in jail,” he said. “It’s about holding people accountable and doing what they should be doing.”