MEDINA — Village of Medina residents may soon get to decide if the court justice system should be dissolved. Looking into the option of placing it on the March 16 ballot, Village of Medina trustees have been discussing the idea of a mandatory referendum. If dissolved, court cases would fall into the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby court systems.

During Monday’s board meeting, trustee Mark Irwin — who has been researching the court system and its necessity— revealed to the board his findings.

Looking into the numbers, Irwin said that on average, $40,000 is lost each year having the court system in the village. Comparing the expenditures to what it takes in, from 2003 to 2009, the village lost anywhere from $30,000 to $51,000 each year, he said.

Speaking to Police Chief Jose Avila and Judge Lawrence Sanderson, Irwin told the board that both showed concern with the idea. Avila had concerns that the Shelby Town Hall is out of their jurisdiction, making it difficult if a prisoner escaped. Avila also said that having court in the same building offers convenience and also a holding cell for those in custody. He also said it would be more difficult when an arraignment is needed in the early morning hours, because resolving the court system would do away with one justice position.

Sanderson had similar concerns and worries that the Town of Ridgeway would not be able to handle the added load, because for whatever reason, most cases that come to court would now fall in Ridgeway jurisdiction.

“I think a lot of those concerns can be addressed in good planning for the transition,” said Trustee Andrew Meier. “Forty-thousand dollars is a lot to pay on an annual basis for a non-essential service.”

Meier said that in the grand scheme of things, the costs outweigh the benefits of keeping it.

In choosing to move forward, the board can either conduct a permissive referendum, which means a petition would be circulated collecting a certain number of signatures to put it on the ballot, or they can call for a mandatory referendum, which would automatically put the issue on the ballot as a referendum question.

Mayor Adam Tabelski said that in 2007, dissolution of the justice court was attempted and the board passed a resolution for a permissive referendum.

“Having gone through the process once and looking at the numbers for several years, it may be best to just let the people decide,” he said.

The board has until Feb. 28 to pass a resolution, calling for a mandatory referendum to make it on the March 16 ballot. The board said it will continue to discuss this at the next meeting.

In other board news:

• The designation of nine sites as local landmarks have been postponed. For more than a year, the Medina planning and village boards have been investigating several “sacred sites” in the village, in hopes to designate them as historical landmarks. However, during several public hearings held on the matter, community members spoke in opposition of this designation.

“We’ve had some feedback from some of those entities and we need to take some time and review that,” Tabelski said. “Try and incorporate that into our larger thinking about those structures.”

If and when the board decides to revisit, a new set of public hearings will be held before they will vote on the designation.

The nine recommended sites include St. John’s Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, First Baptist Church, Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Masonic Lodge No. 336 — the former Christian Science Church, and Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God — the former Medina High School.

• Two resolutions were passed, adopting the local laws pertaining to bicycle, skateboard, roller skates and in-line skate use in the downtown area of the village. The amended law now bans the riding on sidewalks in the business district from Eagle Street to Star Street on Main Street, and from State Street to West Avenue on East and West Center streets.

The law also increases the penalty for repeat offenders and allows the police department to confiscate bikes, skateboards and skates of those who continuously break the law. Parental responsibility will also be included.

In the business district, people are to get off their bikes and skateboards and walk them on the sidewalks. Or they may ride their bikes in the street.

Contact reporter Rikki Cason at 798-1400, ext. 8227.