Village trustee suggests elevator for City Hall so building can be better used by public

Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina’s City Hall, at the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue, is underutilized, Village Trustee Marguerite Sherman said.

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 August 2022 at 9:08 am

MEDINA – A village trustee is suggesting Medina look to put an elevator in City Hall so the building can be better utilized for meetings and village offices.

Marguerite Sherman wants to see how much it would cost to put in an elevator of the building made of local Medina Sandstone. She commented during Monday’s Village Board meeting, when Deputy Mayor Owen Toale led a discussion about shifting some village committee meeting from City Hall to the Ridgeway Town Hall.

Toale said the City Hall lacks handicapped accessibility for public meetings.

He is trying to get a list of all the village committees and their meeting dates to see if Ridgeway has its building available at those times. Ridgeway officials have offered use of the building for meetings at no charge, Toale said.

The village has moved its clerk’s office to a former bank next door on Park Avenue and may do an expansion of that site for a meeting room and additional office space.

Sherman sees village functions gradually be pushed out of City Hall.

“We have this beautiful building just sitting there,” she said.

Medina has several boards and committees that hold public meetings. The Village Board sometimes meets in the village clerk’s office on Park Avenue but typically meets in the Senior Center, a former railroad depot. It also has used the Shelby Town Hall in the recent past.

Medina also has the Boxwood Cemetery Commission, Tourism Committee, Waterfront Development Committee, Parks Committee, Police Advisory Committee, Visioning Committee, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Some of those boards and committees have too many people for the conference room at the village clerk’s office, Toale said.

For now he wants to work with Ridgeway to see if those meetings can be at the Town Hall on West Avenue to better accommodate the committees and boards, and other members of the public.

In other action during Monday’s board meeting:

The board approved closing Maple Street this Saturday from noon until 10 p.m. after a request from resident Brandon Harper, who asked that the short street between Gwinn Street and West Avenue be closed for his wedding celebration. Village officials checked with a business owner on the street and he was OK with closing the street for the 10 hours.

Heather Hungerford from Bent’s Opera House presented a proposal to have a fenced-in outdoor area on the sidewalk by Bent’s along Main Street. The fenced-in area would go 4 feet from the building and still leave about 10 feet of sidewalk open to pedestrians.

Bent’s would have tables and chairs in the fenced-in area for people to enjoy drinks and appetizers, but not meals, Hungerford said.

Toale and board said they want to discuss working on regulations for the fenced-in areas on the sidewalks. Hungerford said the portable fencing is currently difficult to find. The board said the design of the fencing would likely need to go before the Planning Board for a certificate of appropriateness.

Hungerford also said Bent’s is working on plans for an exotic car show in September and would like to have part of Main Street closed for the show which would be on a Sunday. The board asked Hungerford to present more details about the show at the next board meeting on Aug. 22.

Fire Chief Matt Jackson said he will be pursuing new healthcare worker bonuses being made available by the state. Jackson said the full-time firefighters are eligible for the bonuses from the state for up to $3,000.

Jackson also shared that firefighter Matthew Reddy has submitted a letter a resignation. The board accepted his resignation.