Aurora City County & COW - 2/26/24

Aurora, Ohio, City Council and Committee of the Whole
​February 26, 2024

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:00 by Chairman John Kudley with Council members present: Reva Barner, Brad Duguay, Sarah Grdina Gilmore, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz. Peter French and Scott Wolf were absent. There were 9 City Officials and Employees present. There were 2 citizens present.

Minutes from February 12, 2024 were approved with J. Kudley abstaining.

Finance Director’s Report: We are starting off the year strong but it is still early.

 There were 10 Ordinances proposed for Action that evening on 1st Reading. 

• An Ordinance for a Letter of Engagement of McDonald Hopkins for legal services pertaining to the Geauga Lake purchase, Solar panels and CRA legislation.
• An Ordinance for a Letter of Engagement of Bricker Graydon for legal services pertaining to litigation matters.
• An Ordinance for a Letter of Engagement of Thrasher, Dinsmore and Dolan for legal services pertaining to FEMA project which will be paid under the grant.
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of a Redexim Veticore III 1600 aerator from Baker Vehicle Systems to replace the current obsolete aerator at a cost of $28,341.00.
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of a new E48 R-2 Series Bobcat Compact Excavator in the amount of $56,810.50 after the trade in value of $21,500.00 for the City’s current excavator and skidsteer.
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of 2 Lazer X Series mowers in the amount of $26,777.90 from Marshall Power Equipment.
• An Ordinance authorizing the State of Ohio Director of Transportation to perform bridge deck sealing on two bridges located on State Route 82 at no cost to the City.
• An Ordinance authorizing the State of Ohio Director of Transportation to resurface State Route 306 and State Route 82 from Aurora Road to Townline Road with the City paying 20% of the total project costs and 100% of the costs associated with requested change orders. There are no estimates for this 2025 project yet.
• An Ordinance approving a change order from Northeast Ohio Trenching Service in an amount not to exceed $51,720.00 for increased participation in the Backflow Prevention Program.
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of an uplift snow and ice package from Best Truck Equipment in the amount of $53,244.44 for the 1 ton truck purchased at the last meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 6:47

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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.   Council members were present and absent as noted in COW Report.  There were 9 City Officials and Employees present and 2 people in the gallery. 

Minutes from the January 22, 2024  meeting were amended to delete Holly Harris Bane from being in attendance.

February 12, 2024 Meeting minutes were adopted with J. Kudley abstaining.

There was a 20 minute Executive session to discuss the Acquisition of Real Property.

 Mayor’s Report: Items included: The start of the Maple Lane water line replacement; the upcoming installation of a new sidewalk on the west side of New Hudson; the delivery of her State of the City address at the Bertram Inn and swore in Aurora’s newest Police Officer, Laura Clague.

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. 

Ordinances on 2nd Reading: 

• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of Better Together Solar in an amount not to exceed $50,000.00 for the installation of a 19.2 kw solar array on the southern roof of Fire Station No. 1. The City has been working on sustainability projects for the past few years was adopted with rules suspended.

 

• An Ordinance authorizing compensation to the Aurora Board of Education in the net amount of $174,719.00 for its portion of the income tax received from property tax abatements for 2023 which is less the cost of $60,856.00 for one School Resource Officer and $6,500.00 for the share of a support dog expenses was adopted with rules suspended.

 

• An Ordinance granting an admission tax credit to Atlas Cinema Barrington LLC in the amount of $200,000.00 for 48 months in order for them to secure financing was adopted with rules suspended.

• An Ordinance amending Chapter 121 “Council Rules” of Aurora’s Codified Ordinances was removed from Miscellaneous and adopted with rules suspended.

 

• An Ordinance approving the renewal application for the placement of farmland in an Agricultural District for property located at 930 Eggleston will go to 2nd Reading with a public hearing scheduled for March.

 

• The 10 Ordinances proposed at COW for action that evening were adopted with rules suspended. See COW for details.

Citizens Comments: None

Council Members and Committee Remarks: R. Barner asked for an opening date for the Atlas Cinema. Answer: end of March. D. Kovach mentioned the graffiti on the back of the Cinema.

 The meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm.