Aurora City Council & COW-9/12/22

Aurora, Ohio, City Council Meeting and Committee of the Whole - September 12, 2022

Committee of the Whole (COW):

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chairman John Kudley, Jr with 7 council members present: Brad Duguay, Peter French, Sarah Gilmore, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, Scott Wolf. Reva Barner and Harold Hatridge were absent.
There were 10 City Officials and Employees present and 3 people in the gallery.

There were 6 Ordinances or Resolutions proposed for action that evening including:
• Contract Change Order for Line Striping by Dura Mark Inc (last year of 3 yr contract – added new streets)
• ODOT Bridge Inspection Program (current contract ending)
• Contract for Crack Sealing Various Roadways (some is done in house and some contracted out)
• Contract with Ronyak Paving for Ben Shaw Rd (there was some money left for road paving so Ben Shaw was chosen. Lloyd Rd was also proposed but wasn’t deemed as bad as Ben Shaw which is a failed road)
• Contract with Akron Window for new windows at City Hall ($47,000 cost to replace the windows which currently are so poor they let snow in)
• Employees Generally (a promotion, some new hires and a rehire)

There were 2 Ordinances on 1st Reading:
• Contract with Right Stuff Software for Police Department
• Amendment of Aurora Codified Ordinance 107.1 Meetings of Decision-Making Bodies (The Charter change was approved by voters and this clarifies what special circumstances qualify)

Three Ordinances will be put on the September 26 Agenda:
• Waterline Replacement Designs for Chandler Drive and Chandler Lane (there have been several water line breaks)
• Distribution Formula for Local Government Funds (this is usually done every 10 years but now at 5 years- agreed to same amount)
• Lease Agreement for the Miller Property (a 1 year renewal with a $50/month increase to $1,250/month)

​Meeting adjourned at 7 pm.

City Council (CC):

Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm with Council members present and absent as noted at the COW.

Marie Lawrie was sworn in as the new Clerk of Council and several family members were in the audience.

The Mayor reported on upcoming City events: the final concert at Verterans Memorial Park the Classic Car Show at Sunny Lake, Fall Festival and Business Showcase also at Sunny Lake, Flu shot clinic for Aurora City Employees, Shred Day on October 15.

Discussions on Road Paving for the upcoming year and other budget requests from Council members have started.

During Citizens’ Comments 1 resident asked how the public is notified of meeting changes or when special meetings are called.

No Councilman comments.

Ordinances on 2nd Reading:
• Amending the CRA agreement with K&M Tire to reflect an increase in the building size was adopted with rules suspended
• Resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Budget Commission went to 3rd
Reading
• Ordinance declaring surplus and unnecessary certain property to be sold via online auction went to 3rd Reading
• Ordinance to update outdated language in “Employees Generally” and add Martin Luther King Jr Day as a recognized holiday went to 3rd Reading

Ordinances on 1st Reading:
• Ordinance approving a Conditional Zoning Certificate for a comparable use for the property located at 10 S. Chillicothe Rd in a C-1 zoning district went to 2nd Reading
• Ordinance approving the architectural design portfolio for the Bertram Inn condominiums went to 2nd Reading

Citizens Comments:
• Matt Kelly, candidate for Portage County Auditor introduced himself
• D. Conti asked about line striping on New Hudson Rd to which Service Director H. Stark replied “No”

Council Member & Committee Remarks: none

An Executive Session was added at 7:30 and since no action would be taken after that, Council Chamber was cleared except for Council Members.

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm.

LWV-NPC Observer: MS