By ALLISON WOOD

The Post staff writer

MEDINA TWP. - The debate over hydraulic fracturing has caused passionate debate on both sides, and the township is sponsoring an educational forum in order to share accurate information from the experts themselves.

The forum will be Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m. at Weymouth Country Club's ballroom. Trustee Mike Todd, who proposed the idea for the event, will serve as moderator.

He said there are a lot of different concerns, some of which are more legitimate than others. It is important that each side is fairly represented at the forum and all have enough time to speak.

"It is important to have an open dialogue," Todd said. "People can form opinions on the same information. It is important to have an informed opinion."

The forum will feature six people, three from the environmental side and three from the energy development side.

Some who are confirmed to speak on the environmental side include Ron Prosek, the vice president of Network for Oil and Gas Accountability and Protection (NEOGAP); Sandra Bilek, a township resident who helped found Concerned Citizens of Medina County; and township resident Robin Gray.

On the energy development side, confirmed speakers include Rhonda Reda, executive director of Ohio Oil & Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP); and Mike Chadsey, campaign manager for Energy in Depth, the Ohio Project at Oil and Gas Association.

The list may change, said Laurie Shoemaker, township administrative assistant, since some who were asked had not confirmed their appearance. She was also in contact with academics, to see if they could appear and provide a technical perspective and other environmental activists.

Todd said he will send out a list of several different discussion issues to each of the speakers beforehand. At the forum, each speaker will get a set period of time to give remarks.

"I'll let the experts from the fields on both sides tell me what they want to discuss," he said.

Organizers are hoping to avoid the contentious exchanges between both sides that occurred at an earlier forum in Brunswick Jan. 20. Questions to the speakers will be submitted beforehand and read by Todd before he asks them.

"I don't want it to degrade into a finger-pointing contest," he said.

Recent township trustee meetings have featured fracking as one of the topics of discussion. At the Feb. 2 meeting, County Commissioner Adam Friedrick also answered questions. He helped form the county's Shale Initiative Committee consisting of county officials that have held meetings over the last few months.

Todd said he hopes this forum will draw some people who haven't formed a strong opinion of the fracking issue yet, but for those who have, it is an opportunity to become more educated.