Aurora City Council & COW - 3/31/25

Aurora (Ohio) City Council & Committee of the Whole
​March 31, 2025

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, Peter French, Sarah Grdina Gilmore, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz and Scott Wolf. Council member Reva Barner was absent. There were 8 City Officials and Employees present. There were 3 citizen present.

Minutes from March 10, 2025 were adopted with S. Grdina Gilmore abstaining.

Finance Director’s Report: The 2024 financial audit has been progressing with an audit report anticipated to be issued in May. General Fund revenue collections through February are at 21.1% of budgeted revenues with 16.7% of the year completed. General Fund expenditures are at 18.9% of budgeted. Not an unusual situation at this time of the year. J. Kudley asked on behalf of a resident about the electric rate increase.. Mr. Clymer replied that the previous rate of about 4 ½ cents /kwh had been locked in for 4 years. The new rate which is almost double is partly due to the war in Ukraine. Citizens can opt out at any time with no penalty if they wish to search for a better price. 

 There were 3 Ordinances proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance amending Employees Generally reflecting changes in compensation for 6 individuals-some of which include a promotion from Service Tech II to Service Tech III, a pay adjustment for a part time employee and new seasonal hires for Parks and Rec.   
  
• An Ordinance authorizing a contract with Osborn Engineering for limited construction administration services for the Ravine Bridge at Paddock River Preserve. This is for time and materials not to exceed $12,000.00. 
  
• An Ordinance authorizing a contract with Environmental Design Group for limited construction administration and additional design services for Aurora Trail Phase One for time and materials not to exceed $18,000.00. B. Duguay asked why there was only 1 quote. L. Holman replied since this group did the design work on it, it made sense to use them.
  

There was an Ordinances on the agenda concerning an update for Section 1503.13 Additional Fire Safety Regulations. It was removed after it was deemed not necessary.

Meeting adjourned at 6:12 pm

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City Council (CC):  Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 6:17 pm with the Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America. All Council members were present and absent as noted in the COW report. There were 8 City Officials and Employees present and 3 persons in the gallery.

March 10, 2025 Meeting Minutes were adopted with S. Grdina Gilmore abstaining.

Mayor’s Report: Karen Pope read the report which called attention to work beginning on the first leg of the Aurora Trail which should be completed by the summer. Upcoming events include the annual EGGStravaganza being held on Saturday April 5 at the Aurora High School Gym from 10-12. The first Shred Day of 2025 will be at the Service Center from 9-12 on April 12. Since the last meeting she conducted a swearing in of promoted Sergeant Dale Riley, attended the annual Tinkers Creek Watershed Partners mayors’ breakfast and “bid adieu to my executive assistant Kris Allen who retired on March 14”.

Law Director’s Report: Mr. DePiero did not give an oral report but a written report was included with the packet.

Citizens Comments -  Legislation: A representative from Goodwill spoke about an Ordinance from Planning Commission seeking a conditional zoning certificate to Goodwill Industries of Akron for business services to allow a bookstore and donation center located at 215 West Garfield- a former Bank location. They propose using about half of the 3,900 square foot space for an upscale bookstore that would also sell puzzles, greeting cards and games. The other half would be used to stage and temporarily store donations, upgrade the restrooms, have a community room and a staff workroom. They expected to hire 5 individuals with $150,000.00 in wages. It would also provide a work experience place where individuals could be trained and get retail experience. Council members had a number of concerns with J. Kudley starting the questioning. Some of his concerns were what the intention of the work experience was (ans: work is tailored to the individual); The Permit certificate can be revoked at any time (ans: they work to cooperate with the community); Concern about competition with the Friends of the Library Book sale which relies heavily  on the monthly sales for income to support the Library (ans: They have usually found there is a mutual benefit to sharing the sales of books between the 2 groups); Concern about the visibility of the drop area (They plan to have the area manned during operating hours and will bring donations in from the Banks Drive Thru right into the receiving area. Cameras will be installed to help with identifying people who try to drop items off illegally). Other council members also expressed concerns about items being dropped off outside, becoming unusable and unsightly. Concerns about the need for using the Aurora Police for enforcement (ans: the staff polices the area every morning and rarely call the police for help but will readily share any video footage needed by the PD) P. French is the Council rep for Planning Commission. He toured many Goodwill facilities in the area and 1 in Michigan, some with the proposed Boutique model. There is still a concern about items left outside. He was one of the 2 No votes for this reason and concern that the other tenants of the building were not consulted (ans: they did reach out to the owners of the building but didn’t hear from all- have not contacted other tenants). The 3 Yes Votes from Planning did not give a reason for their votes. D. Kovach asked why they chose Aurora (ans: they have been looking for a location around Aurora for 15 years and suitable sites are limited). S. Grdina Gilmore asked how long the terms of the lease were (ans: 5 years). S. Wolf also concerned about people dumping after hours and around the back. J. Kudley asked if Aurora can amend to not allow drop off and if so would Goodwill agree. D. DiPiero said he wants to check into that and will report back. G. Horvat asked how they would process items through the bank window (ans: they will remove the barrier between the 2 lanes, put a door where the window is) 




Council Remarks – Legislation: See their comments above

Ordinances on 3rd Reading:

• The 13 Ordinances pertaining to Easements along S. Chillicothe Rd. were adopted.
  

• The Ordinance accepting the proposal for the purchase of 140 Trees for city subdivisions was adopted.
  

Ordinances on 2nd Reading: 

• The Ordinance for the Speelman Electric proposal went to 3rd Reading.
  
• The Ordinance for the purchase of a MILO Range M-SATS was adopted.
  
• The Ordinance for the 5 year Agricultural use by Carlto Farms was adopted.
  
• The Ordinance adopting the Aurora Civil Service Commission rules amendment went to 3rd Reading.
  
• The Ordinance for the American Fireworks Proposal for July 4th Fireworks went to 3rd Reading.
  

Ordinances on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance granting a conditional zoning certificate to Goodwill Industries of Akron for business services to allow a bookstore and donation center went to 2nd Reading.
  
• The 3 Ordinances proposed at COW for action this evening were adopted with rules suspended- see COW report for details.
  

Citizens Comments: None

Council Members Remarks: J. Kudley said the Aurora Historical Society is hosting the Easter Bunny on April 10. It is a free event and includes a Scavenger Hunt through the Museum
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 The meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm.