What's Happening in Medina, OH…

The city of Medina has bought a former bank-teller building, and will use the space to create a visitor center that will include 21 restrooms, 10 for women, 10 for men, and one family restroom.

Improvements should cost about $250,000, and it is hoped the project will be finished in time for Thanksgiving.

Large events in Medina, such as the candlelight walk, the ice carving festival, or the International Festival, can draw as many as 20,000 people to the downtown area. At present, visitors have only four restrooms available, located in the old firehouse. To avoid long waits, the city has had to bring in portable toilets, which have created problems of their own.

One of the issues, which has been expressed by Mayor Dennis Hanwell, is that there is no running water for people to wash their hands. He also believes that the toilets are out of keeping with the beauty of the area. The alternative is for people to stand in line, or use restrooms in downtown businesses, over the objections of the merchants.

Medina officials are creating a brochure that includes a map of the business district and the amenities, restaurants, shops, and activities found there. In addition to working with brochure printers, they could also work with a flyer printing company to create handouts to be distributed downtown on special occasions.