Aurora City council & COW - 1/12/2026

Aurora City Council and Committee of the Whole
​January 12, 2026

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Chairman John Kudley with Council members present: Brad Duguay, Reva Barner, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz, Ralph Ware and Scott Wolf. Sara Grdina Gilmore was absent. There were 10 City Officials and Employees present. There were 3 citizens present.

Minutes from December 15, 2025 were accepted with J. Seitz and R. Ware abstaining.

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

• An Ordinance for Employees Generally for the new hire of a part time firefighter/EMT.

• An Ordinance declaring as surplus and unnecessary a 2008 Ford F350 truck with snowplow which is not required for the operation of the city and authorizing the advertisement of the vehicle for sale via online auction.
• An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into a loan agreement to memorialize the loan of a historical clock that used to be located at the former SeaWorld park.
• An Ordinance authorizing the issuance of a $10,770.00 loan from the CHIP revolving loan fund for improvements to 1035 Bryce Ave as authorized by the Housing Revolving Loan Fund Administration agreement between Neighborhood Development Services, the State of Ohio and the City of Aurora. The Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) is a revolving loan fund that currently has about $207,000 in it. No payments are made on the loan until the home is sold.  This is the first loan since 2016.. Mr. Ware asked what efforts are made to let people know about it. Information is on the City’s website.
• An Ordinance reflecting changes in compensation for the Annual Employee increases for unclassified, non union employees with a 4% increase.

There was 1 Ordinance proposed for 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of annual software and technology purchases listed through LTech Solutions, Ltd in the amount of $290,049.03.

Meeting adjourned at 6:12 pm

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City Council (CC):   Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 6:19 pm with the Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America. Council members were present and absent as noted in the COW report. There were 10 City Officials and Employees present and 3 people in the gallery.

December 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes were adoped with J. Seitz and R. Ware abstaining.
January 5, 2026 Organizational Meeting Minutes were adopted.

There was an 18 minute Executive Session to discuss Union Negotiations.

Mayor’s Report: City News highlighted:

• Snowman Contest: “Submit your creations to Parks and Rec by February 28 with the name(s) of the artists and location of the snowman.” Contest page can be found on Auroraoh.com under Parks and Rec/Events. 

   Swearing in Ceremony: “Portage County Common Pleas Judge Becky Doherty administered the oaths of office to the Mayor and 3 Council members at a ceremony on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. The stage at the Aurora Community Theatre was the site for the event, with music provided by harpist Roseann Canfora and Celestial Strings and Katherine Womer Benjamin and daughter Nancy. A reception followed in the Gallery, catered by Mazzulo’s. Many thanks to Rachel Miller and Marie Lawrie for organizing the event and ACT for providing the venue.”
  Hillcrest Hospital will be recognizing Firefighter/Paramedics Michael Upholz and Michael Gelardi for their “exceptional actions...during an incident...at Hillcrest Hospital”. They delivered immediate emergency care to an unresponsive passenger at the ambulance and saved her life.
    She requested Council’s support of the city’s 2026 budget on 3rd Reading on the Agenda this evening.
    The Mayor recognized the passing of a good friend and longtime resident, Sarah Grdina Gilmore’s father, Jack Grdina, on January 1. She also noted the passing of Sue Sutton.

Law Director’s Report: Mr. DiPiero’s report was included with the packet. There were no questions for the Law Director.

Citizens Comments on legislation– None
 Council Remarks on legislation–  None

Legislation:
Ordinances on 3rd Reading

• An Ordinance from Planning Commission approving the revised development plan for Walden Co. Ltd. Located southwest of West Garfield Road and West Pioneer Trail in a PD Planned Development District was adopted.
• An Ordinance approving and adopting the annual budget and appropriations for calendar year 2026 was adopted.

Ordinance on 2nd Reading:

• An Ordinance granting a tax abatement to Lynx Packaging, Inc was adopted with rules suspended.

Resolutions on 1st Reading:
      There were 9 Resolutions confirming the Mayor’s reappointments of the following persons with terms ending December 31, 2029.

• Mr. Brian Byard as Police Chief
• Mr. Timothy Clymer as Director of Finance
• Ms. Laura Holman as Director of Parks and Recreation
• Ms. Denise Januska as Director of the Department of Planning, Zoning and Building
• Mr. Matthew McBirney as Fire Chief
• Ms. Karen Pope as Director of Personnell/Chief of Staff
• Mr. Harry Stark as Director of Public Services
• Mr. Dean DePiero as the city’s Director of Law
• Ms. Holly Harris Bane as Economic Development Director

Ordinances on 1st Reading:

• The 5 Ordinances proposed for action on 1st Reading were adopted with rules suspended. See COW for details.
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of annual software and technology purchases listed through LTech Solutions, Ltd in the amount of $290,049.03 went to 2nd Reading. 

Miscellaneous: 

• There was a Liquor Notice: Walden Hospitality, LLC, 585 Country Club Lane- Transfer
• Council members should send any Rules of the City Council they wish to see changed to the Clerk of Council for the January 26 meeting.

Citizens Comments: A Resident of Renaissance Park in the former Sea World property asked Council to look into several concerns she has with Pulte (developers of the property)- drainage issues, the lack of promised walking trails, the clear cutting of trees and the reduction in home values because of these issues. Several Council members asked follow up questions and expressed concerns about the problems. There has been back and forth between the City and Pulte about promised land donation to the city to be used for a park.
    April Secura, President of League of Women Voters of Northern Portage County invited the public to the “Join Something” free event at the Aurora Community Theater on Saturday January 24. The event will begin with a screening of the award winning documentary “Join or Die”  which explores the importance of civic engagement, social connection, community participation and its implication for our country. The movie will be followed by an Activity Fair which will feature 16 local organizations sharing information about their group for potential joining. LWV is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to strengthen democracy.

Law Director Dean DePiero swore in the Directors and Chiefs en masse who were present at the meeting.

Council Members Remarks:  None

Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.