Aurora City Council & COW - 10/28/24

Aurora City Council and Committee of the Whole - October 28, 2024
​Aurora, Ohio

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chairman John Kudley with Council members present: Reva Barner, Brad Duguay, Peter French, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz and Scott Wolf. Council member absent: Sarah Grdina Gardner. There were 8 City Officials and Employees present. There were 2 citizens present.

Minutes from September 23, 2024 were adopted with R. Barner, P. French and S. Grdina Gardner abstaining.
Minutes from October 14, 2024 were adopted with G. Horvat and J. Kudley abstaining.

Finance Director’s Report: Fund balances remain in a healthy position with $50,657,237.00 unencumbered in all funds and $19,784,363,00 unencumbered in the General Fund. The report was accepted.

 There were 4 Ordinances proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance reflecting changes in compensation for 2 individuals- 1 a rehire in the waste water maintenance and pay adjustment for a part time firefighter/paramedic.
  
• An Ordinance revising and increasing various rates and charges assessed by Aurora to reflect cost of living increase, effective January 1, 2025.
  
• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of MKSK, Inc. in the amount of $704,885.00 to provide master planning services for the Aurora Park at Geauga Lake property.
  
• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of Osborn Engineering in the amount not to exceed $7,000.00 to provide additional professional engineering consulting services for the design of the Paddock River Preserve Ravine pedestrian bridge.
  

There were 9 Ordinances or Resolutions proposed for 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of Hejduk-Cox and Associates, Inc. in the amount of $37,637.00 to provide professional engineering services for the design of sidewalks on Aurora Road and Bissell road. There were several questions concerning exactly where the sidewalk would be.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of Ralph Ware as a member of the Architectural Board of Review.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of David Kall as a member of the Audit Committee.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of John Drsek as a member of the Board of Building Code Appeals.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of James Fisher as a member of the Earned Income Tax Board of Review.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of Dennis Mervis as a member of the Earned Income Tax Board of Review.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of Jason Coleman as a member of the Landmark Commission.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of Brad Rosselot as member of the Planning Commission.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s reappointment of James Tomko as a member of the Tree Commission.
  

The meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm

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City Council (CC):  Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm with the Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America. Council members were present or absent as noted in the COW report. There were 8 City Officials and Employees present and 2 people in the gallery.

October 14, 2024 Meeting Minutes were adopted with G. Horvat and J. Kudley abstaining.

Mayor’s Report: Trick or Treat is on October31 from 6-8 pm; The city is partnering with the Rotary Club for the annual Leaf Raking on Saturday November 2; Election day is November 5; Veteran’s Day ceremony will be November 11 at 11:00 am at Veteran’s Memorial Park; 2025 Budget discussions with all directors and Council representatives is completed; there were several events attended among which was the first Aurora/Bainbridge Joint Economic Development District meeting. The city will get some income tax from this as of January 1.

Law Director’s Report: Mr. DiPiero’s report was included in the packet.

Citizens Comments: None

Council Remarks: None

Ordinance on 3rd Reading:

• An Ordinance accepting for dedication the roadways, watermains, storm sewers and sanitary sewers located within the right-of-way and dedicated easements within the Hawthorn subdivision, Phase 6B was adopted.
  
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of 18 Automated External Defibrillators from Stryker in the amount of $33,074.98 was adopted.
  

Ordinances on 2nd Reading:

• An Ordinance granting a tax abatement to Piping Rock Health Products, LLC. For a 100%, 12 year abatement of real property taxes was adopted with rules suspended.
  

• An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into a contract with Zoneco, LLC in the amount of $98,330.00 to evaluate, update, rewrite and modernize the city’s existing zoning code and subdivision regulations went to 3rd Reading.
  

Ordinances on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance authorizing the renewal of a five-year contract with Ltech Solutions Ltd. In the amount of $150,000.00 per year for information technology consulting services went to 2nd Reading.
  

• An Ordinance increasing the threshold for capital asset tracking from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00 and the threshold for inventory tracing from $500.00 to $5,000.00 to more closely align with the best practices recommended by the Goverment Finance Officers Association retroactive to January 1, 2024 went to 2nd Reading.
  
• The 4 Ordinances proposed for action that evening were adopted with rules suspended. See COW for details.
  
• The Ordinance concerning Hejduk-Cox went to 2nd Reading.
  
• The 8 Resolutions concerning the reappointment to various boards and commissions went to 2nd Reading.
  

Miscellaneous: Council decided that COW will start at 6:00 followed by a 5 minute break and City Council meeting immediately following. 2 Council members and 1 citizen were opposed.
   There were 2 Liquor Notices for Sand Pebbles Restaurant to their new location and for Cafe Toscano under new management.

Citizens Comments: None
Council Members Remarks: B. Duguay suggested the city light up in green for the play off game. J. Kudley mentioned about ticket purchases for this game.

 The meeting adjourned at 7:25 pm.

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