MEDINA – County commissioners dismissed objections from neighbors of the former Medina Steakhouse and approved a lease agreement that will convert the former restaurant into a center for recovering drug addicts.
The two-year lease with CKF Partners calls for the county to pay the property owners $66,000 in annual lease payments plus a pro-rated share of property taxes on the building.
Neighbors of the former restaurant at 538 W. Liberty St. had asked commissioners to consider another location for the facility saying a center for recovering drug addicts would pose a safety risk to nearby residents and perhaps lead to a deterioration in property values.
Veronica Perry, chief probation officer for Medina County Common Pleas Courts, said she and judges looked at 40 other locations recommended by protestors but found them all inadequate. Most of those properties were for sale, not lease, which would violate the terms of the grant the county will be using to set up the recovery center.
“We’re not allowed to purchase property or do any capital improvements with the money we get,” Perry said. That money is $300,000 from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction offered to Medina County to use for programs that help keep convicted felons from reentering the legal system
Perry told commissioners there is no similar facility in the county and a recovery center could be a key element in combatting the heroin epidemic sweeping the county and state.
“A center like this could be a huge factor in the recovery of addicts and people struggling to maintain sobriety,” Perry said. “People who come out of treatment centers too often relapse because they don’t have safe, healthy options to live and work and fall back into their old lifestyle.”
Commended
County commissioners presented commendations to Ed Zackery and Annette Hlavaty for being named Veteran of the Year and Veteran Advocate of the Year by the Joint Veterans Coalition of Medina County.
Zackery served 20 years in the U.S. Army earning a Bronze Star while taking part in the Global War on Terrorism. He is also director of the Medina County Veterans Service Office and has served as president of both the state and national Association of County Veterans Service Officers.
Hlavaty is a Brunswick resident and past president of Medina County Blue Star Mothers Patriot Chapter 7 where she increased participation and membership after the chapter was in danger of closing. She helped raise funds for hundreds of care packages sent to servicemen overseas, supported Toys for Tots, The Fisher House, the renovation of the County Veterans Hall and the Vietnam War commemoration.
Transit report
Commissioners approved an agreement with the city of Wadsworth in which the city contributes $15,000 to the annual operating costs of Medina County Public Transits.
The county has similar agreements with Medina and Brunswick which contribute $45,000 annually to MCPT for the operation of significantly more bus routes than provided in Wadsworth.
Transit Director Mike Salamone reported that MCPT ridership in April was 5,676 which includes 2,720 on demand trips and 2,956 fixed route trips. Year-to-date ridership was 23,652 trips through April 30.
Personnel expenses
Commissioners authorized the expenses for several county employees to attend a series of out-of-town meetings and training seminars. Among those expenses were $1,650 for the commissioners’ clerk to attend a five-day conference in New Orleans, $739 for an employee in the Domestic Relations Court to attend a two-day conference in Columbus and $640 for another Domestic Relations Court employee to attend another two-day conference in Columbus.