Aurora City Council & COW - 5/11/24

Aurora, Ohio City Council & Committee of the Whole
May 11, 2024

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:30 by Chairman John Kudley with all Council members present: Brad Duguay, Reva Barner, Peter French, Sarah Grdina Gilmore, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz and Scott Wolf present. There were 10 City Officials and Employees present. There were 4 citizens present.

Minutes from April 9, 2024 were adopted with P. French and S. Grdina Gilmore abstaining.

 There were 5 Ordinances proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance amending “Employees Generally” to reflect changes in compensation for 7 newly hired individuals.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s appointment of Kimberly Boswell to Aurora’s Planning Commission for the term ending December 31, 2026.
  
• An Ordinance awarding a contract to L.C. United Painting Co., Inc in the amount of $179,300.00 to repaint the interior and perform miscellaneous repairs to the water tower on SR 43.
  
• An Ordinance authorizing the contract with Chagrin Valley Engineering, LTD in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00 to provide professional engineering services for specific duties as needed. 
  
• An Ordinance approving a change order from Perrin Asphalt in the amount of $19,300.00 for additional work to repair asphalt damaged by a recent watermain break.
  

There were 2 Ordinances proposed for 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance approving a three-year maintenance contract with Software Solutions for annual software support in the amount of $25,903.28 for 2024 and an amount not to exceed $30,000.00 annually for years 2025 and 2026.
  
• An Ordinance approving and adopting the tax budget of the City of Aurora for the calendar year 2025. It is not the actual budget but must be provided for the County Budget Commission. A public hearing will be set.
  

The meeting adjourned at 6:40 pm

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City Council (CC):  Council President G. Horvat called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm with the Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America.   All Council members were present  as noted in the COW report. There were 10 City Officials and Employees present and 23 people in the gallery- Tree Commission Landscape Award winners.

April 22, 2024 Minutes were adopted with S. Grdina Gilmore and P. French abstaining. 
A Proclamation by the Mayor was given to the 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Kinkopf.


There were 7 Landscape Awards given out by Tree Commission Chairperson Deb Davis. Winners included Independence Village, Tara Community, Aurora Tree Museum- Ben Askrin Arborist, and 4 Citizens.

There was a 12 minute Executive Session to discuss Imminent Litigation and the Acquisition of Real Property

 Mayor’s Report: Items included: The upcoming Memorial Day observances on Monday May 27 at Veterans Memorial beginning at 10:15 a.m. and processing to the Aurora Cemetery; the soon to be completed Adaptive Playground at Leighton School; the Opening of the Splash Pad on May 25 and various activities she participated in since the last meeting among which were the National Day of Prayer; award presentation at the Arbor Day Celebration at Leighton; annual visit to the 3rd Grade to speak about city government.

Law Director’s Report: Mr. DiPiero had no remarks but his report was included with the agenda packet.

Citizens Comments: None

Council Remarks: None

Ordinances on 3rd  Reading:

• Ordinance 2023-104 for the Purchase of 40 acres of land and 53.63 acres of Geauga Lake with a Trail Lake Loop easement from ICP remains postponed.
  

• An Ordinance granting a Conditional Zoning Certificate for a private recreational facility on East Mennonite Rd. was adopted.
  

• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of Hejduk-Cox and Associates, Inc. for engineering services for sidewalks on Aurora-Hudson Rd was adopted.
  

Ordinances on 1st Reading:

• The 5 Ordinances proposed for action that evening were adopted with rules suspended. See COW for details.
  

• An Ordinance approving a three year maintenance contract with Software Solutions for annual software support went to 2nd Reading.
  

• An Ordinance approving and adopting the tax budget of the City of Aurora for the calendar year 2025 went to 2nd Reading. A public hearing is scheduled for June 24.
  

Citizens Comments: None

Council Members and Committee Remarks: J. Kudley spoke about the Historical Society’s House Tour fundraiser on July 13 from 1-4 with 3 homes to tour costing $25.00
 The meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm.