OPEN FOR BUSINESS: IDEA Jewelry (opposite page); A Cupcake A Day (above) and Lemonberry Frozen Yogurt (right) have all been welcomed into Medina’s Downtown area.
private project site plan improvem ents. Previously, businesses were required to post a performance bond equal to the cost of their landscaping, paving and drainage project. Our research indicated that requirement to be unnecessarily high, posing a financial constraint on new and expanding businesses. The percentage has been adjusted to 25 percent of the project estimate, making Medina competitive with other communities. We also have created a non-profit Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) which can quicken the process of developing or improving land owned by the City while giving the City greater control over how the land is developed. The CIC consists of five voting members from the City government and two nonvoting members from the business community. Also in 2012 we embarked on infrastructure improvements, starting with the $2 million reconstruction of Lake Road at Lafayette Road going south, including new water and sewer lines. To supplement the original plan, the City secured
additional funding of $240,000 from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Jobs & Commerce to widen West Smith Road from Lake Road to the railroad tracks 2,300 feet eastward. This project is scheduled to start in 2013. The widening will reduce traffic congestion and allow for more efficient deliveries in and out of businesses in the area, like Owens Corning, which has more than 250 trucks moving in and out every day. This year we were pleased to welcome a number of new businesses into Medina, including Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Sushi >> Continued on next page
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