AURORA CITY COUNCIL & COW - 6/20/2026

Aurora Ohio City Council and Committee of the Whole
​June 20, 2026

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Chairman John Kudley. Council members present: George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz, Ralph Ware and Scott Wolf. Reva Barner, Brad Duguay and Sara Grdina Gilmore were absent. There were 7 City Officials and Employees present. There were 3 citizens present.

Minutes from June 8, 2026 were not adopted since there were not enough Council members present who had been at that meeting to approve them.

Finance Director’s Report: “Fund Balances remain in a healthy position with $48,966,023 unencumbered in all funds and $18,462,915 unencumbered in the General Fund.” Revenue is 12% ahead of budget and expenses are 3% less. The results of the audit are on track for a clean opinion. Mr. Clymer’s report was accepted.

New Business:
 There were 4 Ordinances proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance amending Employees Generally to reflect changes in compensation for a promotion to Police Sergeant. He is replacing a Sergeant who is retiring.
• An Ordinance “establishing a moratorium on accepting for filing and consideration, and/or occupancy permits for any building, structure, use or change of use involving data centers as permitted use for a period not to exceed 12 months…”. Law Director Dean DePiero explained that studies are being done, legislation is being proposed and many communities have put moratoriums on them. Aurora’s current zoning would probably not allow them but the City wants to do due diligence. Mr. Ware asked if there have been any applications or inquiries so far. Answer: No inquiries yet.
• An Ordinance rejecting all bids received for the town hall roof replacement project. The lowest bidder’s submission was incomplete and the remaining bids exceeded the engineering estimate by more than 20%. Once all previous bids are rejected the project can be re-bid. Mr. Horvat asked if the time frame is still the same. Answer: Yes.
• An Ordinance approving an updated job description for “Parks Coordinator” in the Parks and Recreation Department which is a classified, full-time, non-exempt, non-union position. This was an already approved position that they want filled before the opening of Aurora Park at Geauga Lake.

There was 1 Ordinance proposed for 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance “authorizing the Mayor to enter into a consulting agreement with Capitol Consulting Group, Inc in the amount of $60,000.00 to provide consulting services for state and federal government procurement dollars for capital projects at Aurora Park at Geauga Lake and other applicable city projects….”.This Consulting Group has already secured a 1 million dollar grant (not loan) from the State Capital Budget to be used for the Aurora Park at Geauga Lake. The funds will arrive in October. In answer to Council members Seitz and Ware’s questions, the Mayor answered that there are no set hours they need to work, hard to quantify hours. There are no “requirements” for a specific number of grants to apply for. The City does not have a grant writer and this Group has done a great job so far in securing this grant for the city. There are funds available from various entities and they have the resources to search them out and apply for them. They are working on a month to month basis and updates will be provided through the year. The Law Director offered to transfer funds from the Legal Budget to engage them

Meeting adjourned at 6:20 pm

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City Council (CC):   Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 6:24 pm with the Pledge to the Flag of the United States of America. Council members, City Officials and Employees and people in the gallery were present as noted in the COW report.  

May 26, 2026 Meeting Minutes were not adopted since there were not enough members present who could accept them.

Public Hearing: Ordinance 2026-101 Road and Bridge Tax Levy Renewal:  There were no citizens present to speak about this but the Finance Director spoke about the importance of the levy for the upkeep of Aurora’s roads and this is a renewal, no new taxes.

Mayor’s Report:   “City Calendar”:
            Food Truck Wednesdays, second and fourth Wednesdays, beginning June 10 from 11:00 a.m.-2 p.m. at Kiwanis-Moore Park. Details on participating trucks can be found on the Parks and Rec Facebook page the week prior to each event.
            Summer Concert Series, second and fourth Thursdays, beginning on June 11 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.
            The Splash Pad, Snack Shack and the Sunny Lake Boathouse are open.
             City Offices closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day.

Aurora Park Update: The Aurora Park IT building is going up quickly and will be followed by the restroom and office for the Gatehouse. The drawings for phase 1B are 50% completed. The Law Director is working on obtaining a liquor license for the park. The Ohio Legislature’s capital budget included $1 million allocated to the City of Aurora “for the development of the beach area as part of Phase 2A of Aurora Park.”

Fourth of July activities were listed and details can be found on the City’s website. The Parade Grand Marshal is Barb Kudley. “Barb recently retired after more than four decades of service in the Aurora City Schools. Barb is a lifelong resident, former elementary school librarian, active in numerous community organizations, and helped bring Relay for Life to Aurora. Congratulations, Barb!”

82 paving update: After several delays from ODOT, paving is expected to begin July 6.

Purple Heart City: The City of Aurora was presented with a plaque designating Aurora as a Purple Heart City because Portage County is a Purple Heart County.

New Rescue Squad: The Fire Department recently took possession of a new rescue squad that was ordered in March 2023. It is being prepared for service in a few weeks.

Party in the Park 250: “Birthday Bash Tour: is the final installment of the Party in the Park series celebrating America’s 250th birthday on August 1, with the opportunity to explore participating businesses. Registration is taking place now through July 1 at Allaboutaurora.com .

Focus on Economic Development: The Mayor gave an Economic Development Overview of Last Year stating the importance for Aurora’s economic health as we receive 80% of our income tax revenue from these businesses. She listed 11 new businesses from summer 2025-June 2026. 42 Companies are housed in Aurora’s Industrial Park with almost 4,000 people working there and frequenting other Aurora businesses. There is still approximately 103 acres that remain to be developed. The City has implemented plans for retention strategies for the Industrial Park including a Food Truck program and offers of support for Retail Businesses. The Office of Economic Development in partnership with the Mayor’s Office designs ads and advertises in regional publications such as Crains and Cleveland Magazine. They are actively engaged in promoting and encouraging people to visit Aurora. Aurora businesses give back to the Aurora Community through food drives, blood drives, care packages for veterans, among other initiatives. Details are available in the Mayor’s Report on the City’s website.
              
  Mayor’s Office: Since the last Council meeting the Mayor “signed the first set of FEMA closing documents, prepared my article for Aurora Neighbors, attended an event hosted by Governor DeWine,  visited with children at the Splash Pad and handed out popsicles, and looked in on the Splash Bash.”

The Mayor addressed the concerns about drilling in light of the gas explosion in Twinsburg. Aurora has very stringent requirements including needing engineering plans that are reviewed and accepted or denied. She has a great deal of confidence in the Service Department and asked that if anyone sees marking being done, they contact the city.

J. Kudley thanked the Mayor for honoring his wife Barb Kudley as Parade Grand Marshal. He said she has been dedicated to making sure every student gets a Library Card and she would present each child with a personalized book mark. In return, upon her retirement, she received 1,600 personalized book marks from the students.
R. Ware appreciated the Mayor’s comments on drilling and asked about Aurora’s emergency response. The Mayor said Aurora has an overall emergency plan and a mobile command center is on order. Aurora Fire Department was on site in Twinsburg after the explosion to assist.
 
     
Law Director’s Report: Mr. DePiero’s report was included with the packet. There was nothing new to report to Council.

Citizens Comments on the Mayor’s Report/Legislation– None

 Council Remarks on legislation –  None

Legislation:
Consent Calendar: The 5 Ordinances on the Consent Calendar were on 3rd Reading. They included: The purchase of GETAC cloud storage for body cameras, etc; Accepting an easement from Hawthorne Limited Partnership for the construction of a sidewalk on North Aurora Road and Bissell Road; Approving a 3 year maintenance contract for software support; An Ordinance amending “Contracts & Performance Bonds”; An Ordinance amending to establish a rounding policy to align with currency in circulation were adopted “in gross”.
Ordinances and Resolution on 3rd Reading:

• A Resolution submitting to the electors of the city the question of the renewal of an existing 0.9 mill tax levy for streets, roads and bridges was adopted with the Rule that legislation cannot be approved at the same meeting as the Public Hearing was suspended and the Resolution was adopted.
  
• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of Kompan, Inc. for the design and construction of a custom themed accessible play area at Aurora Park and Geauga Lake was adopted.
  
• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of Rent.Fun, LLC to provide and service a 16-unit self-serve rental kiosk for Aurora Park and Geauga Lake that will include kayaks, paddleboards and life jackets was adopted.
  

Ordinances on 2nd Reading:

• An Ordinance extending the moratorium on Vape shops, etc was adopted with rules suspended.
  
• An Ordinance to purchase a vacant lot on Eldridge to help control storm water damage was adopted with rules suspended.
  
• An Ordinance granting an easement to Lynk Packaging to allow emergency vehicles ingress and egress was adopted with rules suspended.
  

Ordinances on 1st Reading:

• The 4 Ordinances proposed for action this evening were adopted with rules suspended. See COW for details.
  
• An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into a consulting agreement with Capitol Consulting Group, Inc. in the amount of $60,000.00 to provide consulting services for state and federal government procurement dollars for capital projects at Aurora Park at Geauga Lake and other applicable city projects went to 2nd Reading.
  

Citizens Comments: None

Council Members Remarks: G. Horvat wished everyone a Happy 4th of July
  

Meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.

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