PART 1 of 2 – Medina Mayor Jim Shields first 100 days in office have been quite active. He’s connecting with staff, and setting priorities for his role in city leadership. Above he is shown during an induction ceremony for the Medina Police Department.
The new leader on connection, collaboration, and Medina’s future
By EMILY CANNING-DEAN
Special To MedinaCountyLIVE.com
After nearly three months in his new position Jim Shields admits he’s not quite accustomed to being called “Mayor.”
“I will walk through somewhere and hear someone say ‘Mayor’ and I start looking around for Dennis Hanwell,” Shields said of his predecessor. “But then I go home and think what a blessing this is. How lucky I am to be mayor of the city I love.”
Over his first couple of months in office, Shields has made a point of meeting with each city employee in person.
“That has been one of my top priorities and I am working my way through every department,” he said. “I want everyone who works here to be comfortable approaching me. Having that connection and collaboration is how we make the city function well and I want our employees to know how much I value and appreciate them and to build those relationships.”
From councilman to mayor on New Year's Eve
While Shields’ ceremonial swearing in as mayor took place Jan. 6, he was officially sworn in on New Year’s Eve as he needed to be prepared to handle any mayoral duties once the clock struck midnight and 2026 arrived.
“We had a snowstorm that night that was going to continue into Saturday and Sunday and I had the chance to see how everyone worked together to go above and beyond and take care of our residents,” he said. “Our parks department employees got to work clearing our city parking lots and parking decks. Our sanitation workers started the snow plowing so our street department workers would have the chance to rest up before taking over on the weekend. Everyone was stepping in and helping each other. I tried to update the residents on what was happening as much as possible and to let us know if we were missing something.”
Shields said he thinks communicating with residents is of utmost importance when running a city effectively.
“I want to make sure I am always communicating to people what is going on,” he said. “That’s why I’ve started adding a new section in our weekly newsletter. If there is a question I’m hearing from some residents, I want to address it. Like recently residents had some questions about trees being cut down on Reagan Parkway. They also recently had questions about some corral areas surrounded by fences near the Meijer property. I explained those were out-lots that were fenced in so interested buyers who might consider opening a restaurant or business knew how much space they have to work with. So now if I hear the same question from at least a few residents, I try to address it in the newsletter.”
First year priorities: Safety, deer population, downtown
As his first year as mayor continues, Shields said addressing the deer population is a priority.
“I know that is something a lot of people are concerned about,” he said. “We just had a long meeting about it. We have had success with our bow hunting program, and we might be adding some new features and just working on a good overall deer management plan.”
Shields said he has also learned many stakeholders are interested in a Downtown Outdoor Refreshment Area in and around the square.
“That is something we are working on, but we also want to find a way to balance that with improving safety in the square,” Shields said. “With council’s help we are doing some studies to increase safety and looking at things like pedestrian bump-outs and the placement of our crosswalks. We are also taking a look at parking in the square to see if that is something we should change.”
Much to be proud of, but improvements needed
While he believes there is much to be proud of in Medina, Shields said there are always efforts to make the community even better.
“We still use a lot of paper at City Hall, and I want to focus on bringing in some more technological advancements to help both employees and our residents,” he said. “There are times residents still have to come in to fill out a form, and it would be nice to find a mechanism where they could just hop online and fill that out.”
Also, while the city’s historic and commercial districts are beautiful and picturesque, Shields said there are a number of buildings such as the water treatment facility, the sanitation department building and the street department building that need attention.
“One of the buildings the water department still uses was built in 1920 and a city garage was built in the 60s and hasn’t been updated,” he said. “It’s important that we have good working conditions for our employees.”
In his new role as mayor, Shields said he wants to make sure he is available and accessible to employees and residents alike.
“I want people to feel comfortable enough to come talk to me and share ideas and tell me about challenges they are having,” he said. “Having a listening ear is how we make Medina better. Reach out and give me a call or pop by City Hall to see if I’m available.”
LIVE Talk: Audio Details
Readers will find many LIVE Talk audio features with the content of our Medina County Time Capsule. Enjoy our mini-cast audio features below as we capture the voices of civic, community, and business leaders and document their comments and perspectives.
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