Reassessments in Shelby, Ridgeway dramatically increased tax base

MEDINA – The tax rates for the school district are going down – dramatically – after townwide reassessments in Shelby and Ridgeway increased the school district’s tax base by about 50 percent.

The Board of Education on Aug. 7 approved the tax warrant, which also sets the tax rates for the school district (and also the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library). The Medina district primarily includes property owners in Ridgeway and Shelby, but also includes small portions of Barre, Hartland, Albion and Alabama.

The rates for Ridgeway, Shelby and Alabama, which are at full valuation, are $14.03 per $1,000 of assessed property – down from just over $20.

The $14.03 rate is lowest for the district in at least 25 years. That’s as far back as Dr. Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, could go in the district database.

Overall the school district’s tax base is up by 49.3 percent or $206,391,967. It went from $418,392,371 in 2022-23 to the current $624,784,338.

Not all towns did re-valuations in Orleans County this past year with some wanting to wait to see if a hot real estate market settles down. The towns typically do re-valuations every three years. Ridgeway and Shelby were scheduled to do them in 2022 but held off until this year, when they completed the town-wide reassessments and the values are up by a lot.

The portion of Ridgeway in the Medina school district increased in assessed value by 54.6 percent or by $110,201,809 – from $201,811,373 to $312,013,182. Ridgeway’s school tax rate is dropping by $7.64 from $21.67 per $1,000 of assessed property to $14.03.

Shelby’s assessed value in the district jumped by 46.8 percent or by $96,019,297 – from $205,098,646 to $301,117,943. Shelby’s school tax rate is down by $6.56 from $21.67 to $14.03.

(The Alabama portion changed from $116,220 to $149,916; Albion from $900,084 to $1,007,436; Barre from $6,309,876 to $6,360,923; and Hartland from $4,156,172 to $4,134,938.)

Albion hasn’t done a reassessment in four years and its tax rate, adjusted through equalization by the state, is at $18.96 for those in the Medina school district. Barre did a reassessment in 2022 and is only a year from its last re-val. It’s rate is at $15.59.

The district’s tax levy, what it collects in property taxes, is $8,814,697, the same as the previous year. Medina hasn’t increased the tax levy in 14 of the past 16 years.

The district’s budget for 2023-24 totals $40,095,815, which represents a 0.53 percent spending increase from the $39,884,316 in 2022-23.

Provided photos

MEDINA – Ed Weider, right, and Charles Lind were among the amateur radio operators at State Street Park in Medina the previous weekend for “Parks on the Air.”

For this event, radio operators travel to designated parks, each with a specific identifier, and activate the park for other ham radio operators to make contacts. The activity promotes emergency preparedness with portable and battery powered equipment.

The local amateur radio operators who participated at State Street Park include Ed Weider, K2EDW; Charles Lind, N8CL; David Westbrook, K2DW; Maria Westbrook, K2EO; and Warren Westbrook, 11 years old, KD2ZUA.

MEDINA – The tattoo artists and piercers at Canalside Tattoo raised more than $18,000 during a “Caturday” benefit on July 30.

The funds go to Cat by Cat Inc.’s Medina team which seeks to humanely “TNVR” cats through targeted trapping. Cat by Cat focuses on a TNVR model – Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return.

The Medina team cared for about 200 cats last year. Feral or community cats remains in “overwhelming” problem in Medina and Orleans County, said Shannon Blount, leader of the Medina team.

The $18,304 in total dollars at the fundraiser will go towards neutering, medications, vaccinations, food and cat litter, and other supplies.

The tattoo artists at Canalside donated their time and raised more than $10,000 by doing 100 tattoos. The tattoo team includes Tyler VerCruysse, Andrew London, James Christian, Matt Rolfe, CJ Cruickshank, Shawn Ramsey, David Jednat, Markus Puleo and Maer Rose.

Two piercers, Megan Furness and Maisie Griffin, did 41 piercings and raised more than $1,500.

A basket raffle with 93 items were donated by community members and raised nearly $6,000.

“The community was incredible,” Blount said.

For more information on Cat by Cat, click here.

The basket raffle raised $5,820 for Cat by Cat in Medina.

MEDINA – The grand finale of Medina’s Blue Thursdays concert on Aug. 10 has been cancelled due to the forecast of rain. Tommy Z Band was scheduled to close out the series at State Street Park. Tommy Z already has agreed to perform in Medina next year.

“We’ve poured over the data, consulted with meteorologists and have decided it would be best to cancel the show,” said Chris Busch, of ORG/medinaalive.com and co-promoter of the event.

“While we may not be able to predict the exact timing of bad weather, but the threat is high during our window of 4 to 8 p.m. – between 50%-70% and we simply can’t chance it.”

Vendors and the band typically start arriving at 4 p.m. That’s when the weather is expected to start turning bad for an outdoor concert.

“There’s a lot of factors to consider in making these decisions and it’s always tough,” Busch said. “However, we were able to do seven of eight gigs this year and that’s pretty good considering the rain we’ve had all summer.”

Despite the finale cancellation, Busch and the other concert promoters are pleased with the series.

“We had a great run this year,” said Ken Daluisio of the Print Shop, co-promoter of the series. “We averaged about 600 a night – some nights less, some more with a peak of 1,000 opening night. That’s a great thing for Medina. Better than half of those people are new to our village and they’re very impressed with what they find here– the village, the venue, the event– everything.”

The bands were sponsored by Modern Mercantile and Main Liquor. ORG coordinated the booking logistics, band arrangements and media. The Pront Shop handled site logistics and sign coverage. Dave Berry ran the 50/50 raffle and Andy Morris was parking coordinator. Karl Bauer of Crossborder Blues also promoted Blue Thursdays .

The food and beverage vendors included Cusimano’s Pizzeria, Parker’s Pit BBQ, WNY Empanadas, Catherine Street Bakery, Greenlief’s On The Go, Flower City Scoops, Blue Groove Coffee, Leonard Oakes Estate Winery and 810 Meadworks.

 “We’d also like to express our gratitude to Mayor Mike Sidari, the Village of Medina and especially Jason Watts and the Village of Medina DPW for their incredible support and cooperation in making this series possible,” Busch said.

Blue Thursdays 2024 will run Thursdays from June 20 thru August 8, with the exception of Independence Day.

MEDINA – The Medina school district announced it will continue providing free breakfast and lunch to all students this school year.

Medina has been offering free breakfast and lunch to all students the past five years through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Breakfast/Lunch Program.

“This program has been a tremendous help to our students,” said Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent. “It’s harder to learn when you’re hungry. We know that all of our kids will have a breakfast and lunch each day.”

The CEP program provides the opportunity for schools in high poverty areas to provide two nutritious meals every school day, while eliminating the stigma for those students previously identified as “low income.”

The CEP began in 2011 with three states piloting the program and then became a nationwide program in 2014. To be eligible for CEP at least 40 percent of students must be identified as “directly certified” for free meals without a meal application through programs such as SNAP, TANF and Medicaid. Medina school district has met this eligibility guideline.

For additional information about the program, contact the following:

• Medina Jr.-Sr. High School, Principal Michael Cavanagh, at (585) 798-2700 ext. 1
• Clifford Wise Intermediate School, Co-Principal Daniel Doctor, at (585) 798-2700 ext. 2
• Oak Orchard Primary School, Principal Jennifer Stearns, at (585) 798-2700 ext. 3

Photo and information from John Dieter of Troop 35

Troop 35 from Medina attended BSA Camp Merz on Chautauqua Lake this past week. There were 17 scouts along with three leaders at the week-long camp working on merit badges and rank advancements.

Pictured from left include: Vinny Gray, Ryder Jones, Landan Costich, Maddox Smith, Will Minor, Ryan Frentz, Nicholas Reese, Colton Smith, Jimmy Dieter, Josiah Morton, Briley Allen, Nate Surdel, River Jones, Cole Herman, Kam Kassey, Jake Gidley, and Brayden Lewis.  Leaders John Dieter, Michael Reese and Shaun Smith are standing in back row.

 The scouts completed 80 merit badges during the week. Scouts were able to utilize some of the activities at the camp, including shooting sports and archery. Also being on Chautauqua Lake the waterfront program was robust allowing many scouts to take motor boating not offered by many scouting camps.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Mark Strassner does a full backflip on his bike at the Luke Nelson Skate Park in Medina on Saturday as part of Family Fun Day at Butts Park.

Strassner was one of eight BMX bikers and skateboarders in Reanimate who did a demonstration. The group is from Rochester and visits skate parks in the region. They said the new Medina skate park is a top site for skaters and BMX bikers.

“This one of the model parks for its general design and flow,” said Greg Skolaski, one of the group’s leaders. “There is something for everyone.”

Skolaski, a pastor, also spoke to large crowd at Butts Parks for the sixth annual Family Fun Day.

Many churches and community offered information, snacks and other giveaways in the event that was scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. About 50 volunteers teamed to put on the event.

Pastor Jovannie Canales interviews Sherry Tuohey, who heads MAAC’s Red Barrel program at Christmas.

Canales and his wife Melisa, left, are leaders of the Oasis Church in Medina. It used to be known as The Second Church True Disciples of Jesus Christ until changing its name in May.

The congregation has been doing Family Fun Day for six years. It started from a parking lot at the old Medina High School with 50 people and has grown each year.

Canales said 10 churches from the Medina Area Association of Churches (MAAC) and Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation (PACT) worked together to put on the event.

There were 320 adults and 300 kids at Family Fun Day. The churches prayed for 125 people and 15 people were baptized, Canales said.

“It’s awesome to see the fellowship and unity in the county,” Canales said about the churches working together. “We’re all on the same mission to reach our county.”

Medina police officer and K-9 handler Jacob Reeves and Phoenix did a K-9 demonstration showing Phoenix’s skills at tracking and detection.

Kids had a lot of fun in the bounce houses and also the playground equipment at Butts Park.

The Medina Fire Department offered a up-close look at a fire truck and also gave out red plastic fire hats. Kids could also spray a hose at targets.

A skateboarder from Reanimate demonstrates some skills in the bowl at the Skate Park.

MEDINA – Anyone who likes to shop is advised to keep on eye on businesses in Medina for a sidewalk sale on Saturday.

“If you ever needed an excuse to enjoy a day in Medina, the annual sidewalk sale provides it,” said Scott Robinson, president of Medina Area Partnership. “Many of the businesses will start their sales before Saturday and run through Sunday. Whether it’s clothing, books, small and large or unique gifts, this summer event is worth your time.”

Robinson also reminds shoppers to enjoy the town’s food and drink scene after a day of shopping.

The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in most stores in Medina’s historic downtown. Participating businesses include Lily & Sparrow, American Craftsmen’s Gallery (featuring children’s clothing), Ashlee’s Place, Author’s Note, Canalside Tattoo, Creekside Floral, ellen j goods, Herbalty Cottage, Modern Mercantile, Mystic Dragon’s Lair, Rosenkrans, The Downtown Browsery and The English Rose Tea Shoppe.

MAP also requests shoppers share their special finds with them on Facebook @MedinaAreaPartnership or www.MedinaAP.org.