Medina will discuss future direction of Fire Department at Aug. 20 meeting

Photo by Tom Rivers – A Medina Fire Department ambulance heads out for a call on Monday evening.

MEDINA – The Medina Village Board has set a special meeting for Aug. 20 for the discussion to focus on the future of the Medina Fire Department.

Board members say they highly value the work of firefighters, but the board is concerned about the costs of running a department with 17 full-time paid staff. The board recently reduced the paid staff from 21 to 17.

Trustee Debbie Padoleski, a retired clerk/treasurer for the village, said it is imperative for Medina to get more financial help from neighboring towns for the fire department services, which includes running the primary ambulance service for western Orleans County. The fire department responds to about 2,500 calls a year and about 90 percent, more than 2,200, are EMS/ambulance calls.

The towns of Shelby, Ridgeway and Yates each contribute $35,000 a year to Medina towards the ambulance service.

“That doesn’t even begin to pay for our firemen, the ambulances, fuel, and wear and tear,” Padoleski said during Monday’s Village Board meeting.

The other seven towns in Orleans County contract with Mercy EMS for ambulance services. The amount varies and is based on call volume. Mercy will be paid $250,000 this year for staging two basic life support ambulances in central and eastern Orleans 24 hours a day, seven days a week, plus an advanced life support fly car that would be available 24-7.

The contract calls for the seven towns to pay the following in 2025: Albion, $93,000; Barre, $11,000; Carlton, $18,500; Clarendon, $28,000; Gaines, $38,500; Kendall, $12,750; and Murray, $48,250.

Medina village officials also need to decide soon about whether it will proceed with an addition to the fire hall to accommodate a new ladder truck due to arrive in December.

Medina will be paying $1.7 million for the ladder truck. A one-bay addition to the fire hall is expected to be just over $1 million. Medina is pursuing a state grant for $1 million to help pay for the addition, but Padoleski said she worries about the difference in the final cost and what a grant may cover. She said village taxpayers are already stretched to the limit.

The Aug. 20 meeting will begin at 6 p.m. whether at the Ridgeway Town Hall or the Medina Senior Center. The location will be posted soon, Mayor Marguerite Sherman said.

The county also is doing a study for EMS/firefighting services throughout the county. Village Trustee Scott Bieliski said village officials already know Median is a cornerstone for the service in western Orleans, and often providing mutual aid in central Orleans as well. The big issue is getting more revenue to Medina for the service that often goes outside the village boundaries, he said.

“They’re doing a study, but we know we are taking care of a lot of the county,” Bieliski said.