Medina City Council authorizes $50,000 expenditure for Next Step Up Shelter

MEDINA — Medina City Council recently passed an ordinance authorizing a $50,000 expenditure to support Medina's Next Step Up Shelter in 2026. During Monday's Council meeting, Mayor Dennis Hanwell briefly discussed the proposed ordinance, explaining why it was moved onto Council. The $50,000 expenditure was first discussed at a Medina Finance Committee meeting in late August, when Hanwell said that the Next Step Shelter requested $50,000 from the city for 2026. The Next Step Up is an emergency housing shelter in Medina operated by the Medina Metropolitan Housing Authority. Medina Metropolitan Housing Authority also asked for funding from Brunswick, Wadsworth, Medina County and Ohio, Hanwell previously said. Following a brief discussion, Medina Finance Committee passed the request for Council action back in August, making the $50,000 contingent on funding coming from the county and the other two cities. During Monday's meeting, Hanwell said Brunswick included $50,001 in the city's proposed 2026 budget. Additionally, Medina County officials have discussed pledging $100,000 to the shelter and discussions are underway in Wadsworth. While all of the funding hasn't been committed, Hanwell said the finance department wanted to get the information together on the books. "I will ask (Medina Metropolitan Housing Authority Executive Director Skip Sipos) to send an invoice, but we may hold the invoice (so) we keep the pressure on Wadsworth," Hanwell said. The Next Step Up shelter opened on Feb. 28 and has since served 153 people, including 17 children. The shelter has 27 beds and two cribs, Sipos previously said, which serves men, women and children. The shelter is open 24 hours a day all year. Sipos previously said a household can consist of one or more people. There are 21 households that have successfully exited the shelter and entered into a lease agreement of their own. Another 38 households have self-resolved and found alternative housing with friends or family members. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.