MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORP., ANOTHER MEDINA REPUBLICRAT SCAM ?

Medina County Republicrats have been overjoyed to tout and apparently funnel taxpayer dollars into the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.  What an impressive name for a private corporation.

MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION even has an Executive Director named Bethany Dentler.

The line of authority between the elected Medina County Commissioners and the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION seem to have blurred.

Take, for example an online article posted by the Medina Gassette on February 25, 2015, found at http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2015/02/25/holiday-inn-among-10m-medina-county-construction-projects/

The article touts new business construction in Medina County and quotes Ms. Dentler, "It's been a very busy winter."  Apparently Ms. Dentler and the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION has been authorized to approve tax abatements!!

Quoting from the Medina Gassette article,

“We received an abatement application from them, but we have not yet met with them to discuss any numbers,” Dentler said. 

Now, that is all well and good. However, certain issues present themselves.  How is that a private corporation, the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION is authorized to receive and review APPLICATIONS FOR TAX ABATEMENTS?

The blogger never voted for BETHANY DENTLER to represent him in matters involving the administration of Medina County government.  Did you?

Quoting further from the Medina Gassette article:

Commissioner Pat Geissman said she was “delighted” to hear how busy Dentler’s office has been because of the additional jobs coming to the county. 

In a March 22, 2012, the Medina Gassette published an article headlined Fiber-optic network construction is halfway done, found at http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2012/03/22/fiber-optic-network-construction-is-halfway-done/


Quoting from the Medina Gassette article:

Earlier this month, Bethany Dentler, director of the Medina County Economic Development Corp., updated county commissioners on a reduced price for pole attachment, which will save $2 million.

“Last year, when we were negotiating with one of the utility companies (FirstEnergy), they started the conversation with a price … north of 30 bucks per pole,” Dentler said. “Everyone took another look at the situation and saw because the Port Authority is a government entity, we had the right to be charged a Public Utility Commission of Ohio tariff rate. So in working through that legal discussion with FirstEnergy, we were able to secure a rate of $4.69 (per pole).”

If the content of the article is to be believed, Ms. Dentler and the private corporation, the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION is negotiating on behalf of Medina County government with the full knowledge and consent of the Medina County Commissioners.

While the blogger may have been born at night, it certainly wasn't last night.  THE AROMA OF ROTTING FISH IS PERMEATING THE AIR!

By some strange twist of fate, BETHANY DENTLER ALSO HAPPENS TO BE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE MEDINA COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY.  KEEPING TRACK OF ALL THOSE CARGO SHIPS DOCKING AT THE PORT OF MEDINA APPARENTLY DOES NOT REQUIRE ALL THAT MUCH OF MS. DENTLER'S FULL ATTENTION!

Turning once again to the Medina Gassette, in an article published on December 31, 2010 and found at http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2010/12/31/port-authority-issues-144-million-in-bonds/

The Medina County Port Authority issued $14.4 million in bonds for the countywide fiber-optic loop project just in time for Thursday’s deadline to use the stimulus-funded Recovery Zone Bonds.

Bethany Dentler, administrator of the Port Authority, said many other projects were vying for buyers for the bonds. “We ran into a couple of challenges toward the end of the year, mostly because there were a lot of other projects going to market at the end of the year. So it took longer than we anticipated,” she said.

SO THEN DENTLER IS BOTH ADMINISTRATOR OF THE MEDINA COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY and the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, A PRIVATE CORPORATION ASSUMING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF ELECTED OFFICIALS.

THERE APPEARS TO BE NO MINOR GLITCH IN ALL OF THIS REPUBLICRAT MANEUVERING.

IT SEEMS THAT THE MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS NO CORPORATION AT ALL.

THE OFFICE OF THE OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE HAS NO CORPORATE REGISTRATION FOR THE MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Any citizen can confirm this fact by accessing the website of the Ohio Secretary of State, as did the blogger, at
http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/pls/bsqry/f?p=100:2:0::NO:RP::http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/pls/bsqry/f?p=100:2:0::NO:RP::

SHOWN BELOW IS A SEARCH THE BLOGGER CONDUCTED AT THE WEBSITE OF THE OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE

SHOWN BELOW IS THE RESULT OF THE SEARCH FOR THE PURPORTED MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT  CORPORATION

Now, this whole thing gets even more confusing. Even though the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION appears to not be registered as a corporate entity within the State of Ohio, it has filed a federal tax return, IRS Form 990, with the Internal Revenue Service, claiming exemption from federal income taxes as a non-profit organization.

SHOWN BELOW IS THE FIRST PAGE OF IRS FORM 990 FILED BY THE MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR TAX YEAR 2013:

   Since the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION applied for, and was apparently granted, Section 501(c) tax status  by the Internal Revenue Service, exempt from Federal Income Taxes, it is only reasonable to assume that the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION should be legally organized as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio, which appears that it is not.  Is this, perhaps, evidence of a fraudulent application for tax exempt status filed by the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION with the IRS?  That is certainly difficult to know at present.

In attempt to clarify some of these issues, the blogger placed a telephone call to Mr. David Corrado, who was friendly enough.  Mr. Corrado had some interesting things to say:
1) The Medina County Port Authority, a governmental entity. is "administered" by the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, a private corporation.  That makes BETHANY DENTLER the de facto Administrator of the Port Authority.

2) That current revenues from the Medina County Fiber Optic Network, allegedly owned by the Port Authority,  amount to "about $30,000 per month."  The website of the Medina County Port Authority expressly states that the Network will be financed by "$14,435,000 in Recovery Zone Bonds issued by Medina County Port Authority in December 2010, to be repaid within 20 years by user fees."

 By the blogger's reckoning, assuming the $30,000 monthly revenues remain static, it will take FORTY YEARS to recoup the estimated  $14.4 million cost of the Network.  That is some dandy long-term fiscal planning !!!

3) That the monthly revenues from the Network are directed to bank accounts to meet the obligations of future bond payments, essentially escrow accounts.  That is all well and goof, but if the Network defaults on its bond payments, who do you think will end up paying for this boondoggle?  The taxpayers of Medina County, maybe?

4) There are no publicly available records to document the revenues received by the Port Authority derived from the Network.  Mr. Corado referred the blogger to the MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS with the understanding that the "notes of the meetings" should provide information as to the revenues derived from the Network.  That is odd, since one would think that the Port Authority would have that information readily available if it were held accountable by the Medina County Commissioners.

THIS ENTIRE ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE MEDINA COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY, ADMINISTERED BY THE MEDINA COUNTY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WHICH IS APPARENTLY NOT REGISTERED AS A CORPORATION WITH THE OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE, SURELY GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF NOTHING MORE THAN A DAISY CHAIN CALCULATED TO ABSOLVE ANYONE AND EVERYONE FROM ASSUMING ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ABJECT FAILURES AND ANY ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE CITIZENRY OF MEDINA COUNTY.

THIS IS ALL SURE LOOKS LIKE ONE MORE SCAM BY MEDINA COUNTY REPUBLICRATS.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH PUBLIC MONEY, AND WHO IS BENEFITING FROM THIS CHARADE?  

CERTAINLY NOT THE TAXPAYERS!

MOREOVER, JUST WHO IS RUNNING COUNTY GOVERNMENT, BETHANY DENTLER?