Contract dispute mediation begins for Medina Creative Housing, county Board of Developmental Disabilities

MEDINA — An ongoing contract dispute between Medina Creative Housing and the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities has entered mediation while families seek answers. On Monday, family members of Medina Creative Housing residents who could be forced to relocate asked officials for advice on what to expect and contingency plans. "Are we expected to have kind of an idea before we get eviction notices again?" said Lisa Hennings, parent of a three-year resident. "I'm passionate about my daughter and that's all that matters to me. We want to know if we're going to need to come up with a Plan B." Medina Creative Housing and MCBDD have been unable to agree to terms on a new three-year contract after one-year extensions had been tacked onto a previous deal since 2018. As a result, Medina Creative Housing informed residents and families in December of intent to sell its single-family units in Medina County, starting with two homes where notices to vacate by the end of February were given. The housing group and MCBDD decided soon thereafter to continue with previous contract provisions for another six months in hopes of coming to a new agreement, avoiding relocation of any residents for the time being. However, that extension will come to an end June 30 and a set time frame for resolution has still not been made clear. "I know everyone's in a hard position," Hennings said. "I have the utmost respect for everyone in the room, but it's just a lot when you've been through so much with your children and they're finally in a good space where they're able to make choices and love the home they live in. It's frightening, as a parent, that I could potentially lose that for her." Plans to sell properties come with a new contract offer that would pay Medina Creative Housing significantly less moving forward than in previous years. That language changes payments from a $170,000 set amount to ones set by adding 20 percent to fair market rental rates established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. MCBDD says that new method will add up to roughly $112,000 a year for Medina Creative Housing, which disagrees and estimates that payout to only be around $50,000. Creative Housing had received that $170,000 annually since 2015. Without a new agreement, Medina Creative Housing has stated it will be forced to sell 10 houses that contain 14 single-family residences, some being duplexes. Those units currently house 18 residents. Medina Creative Housing, with headquarters at 1120 N. Huntington St., Medina, has operated as a nonprofit in Medina County since 1992. "I think we're in a catch-22," said MCBDD board president David Hartman. "Personally, I feel we're in a catch-22 because we don't want to come to you as individuals from creative housing and try to solicit you to Summit and have you go to them. If you choose that it's fine but we're hoping the mediation works." Hartman was alluding to a February MCBDD agreement with Summit Housing Development Corp. allowing that organization to access state funds to provide special-needs living quarters in Medina County. That contract does not include a set yearly subsidy like Medina Creative Housing has received and, according to MCBDD, has not played into contract hangups. Mediation between MCBDD and Medina Creative Housing began this past Friday with hopes of scheduling another session for sometime in the next few weeks, MCBDD members said Monday. "We're not giving up," Hartman said about those talks. "It's tough. It's not that we're not sympathetic toward your dilemma. We've already experienced the threat of evictions and we don't want to go that route again." Family members asked Monday for assurance that MCBDD is seeking backup housing options for their loved ones in the event that negotiations fall through. Officials said that process had begun but did not specify whether those homes would be comparable to the single-family homes in question. "If we were talking about several million dollars I could have some sympathy for your actions," Thomas Borror said to board members. "But when we're talking about three hundred thousand out of $25 or $30 million, you have no basis for a discussion on any of this. It's also a sorry case when our probate judge, (Kevin) Dunn, and county commissioners won't hold your feet to the fire." MCBDD carried a cash reserve of roughly $25 million into 2021. However, a 2021 budget summary released in October shows combined general and capital fund reserves gradually decreasing this decade and totaling just $1.26 million by 2030. That projection showed the general fund reserve being completely depleted by 2027. Projected MCBDD spending for 2021 showed a deficit of nearly $1 million with $23.92 million in expenses and just over $23 million in revenue. "All parties have agreed that conversations would be kept confidential," said MCBDD Superintendent Stacey Maleckar about mediation with Medina Creative Housing. "I think there's been some good discussion. We are continuing to move forward and nothing has been taken off the table at this point." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330 )721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.