Aurora City Council & COW - 6/23/25

Aurora, Ohio, City Council and Committee of the Whole
​June 23, 2025

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Vice Chairman Scott Wolf with Council members present: Reva Barner, Brad Duguay, Peter French, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach and John Seitz. John Kudley and Sarah Grdina Gilmore were absent. There were 9 City Officials and Employees present. There were 11 citizens present (most for the Landscape Awards)

Minutes from June 9, 2025 were adopted.

Finance Director’s Report: “The city is closely monitoring the various proposals originating within the state legislature regarding property taxes. HB 335 is particularly concerning, as it would eliminate the city’s 2.40 inside mills. Aurora’s inside mills collect annual property taxes of $2.74 million in General Fund revenue, the loss of which would be significant.” Fund balances have $45,099,630 unencumbered in all funds and $17,207,072 unencumbered in the General Fund.

 There was 1 Ordinance proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance selecting the bid of Cistones Excavating Services, LLC in an amount not to exceed $479,132.50 to replace 1,050 linear feet of watermain including  hydrants, valves and service connections on Chandler Lane and Chandler Drive within Walden subdivision.
  

 
 
Meeting adjourned at 6:03 pm

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City Council (CC):   Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 6:07 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 9 City Officials and Employees present and 11 people in the gallery.

June 9, 2025 Meeting Minutes were adopted.

Appeal from ABR: Owners of a corner home on Greenbriar Drive were appealing the denial of installing solar panels on their roof, which are not allowed on street facing roofs. No one was present to speak in favor of them. Council denied the appeal unanimously.

Landscape Awards: Laura Holman, Director of Parks and Recreation, introduced the Chairman of Aurora’s Tree Commission, Deb Davis. After a brief mention of the importance of Nature in our lives and how our landscapes enhance the beauty of the green spaces of our parks and recreation areas, Deb presented 3 awards to residents recognizing their home landscapes. Eleven people were present for the awards.



Mayor’s Report: City News highlighted:

• The Splash Pad and Sunny Lake Boathouse are open
  
• Food Truck Wednesdays began June 11 and continue through August on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday from 11 am to 2 pm at Kiwanis-Moore Park
  
• Summer Concerts began June 12 and continue through August on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at 6:30 pm at Veterans Memorial Park.
  

Information on the Fourth of July events include the Fun run, Parade, Festival and Fireworks can be found on the city’s website. The Parade Grand Marshal is Paul Tanski, serving as Scoutmaster of Troop 269 since 2018 and involved with Scouting for 19 years. Road Paving is almost complete with just 3 streets left to be completed. The City Hall Roof had a leak at the flat section of the roof and was repaired. New gutters were installed and both chimneys were also repaired. Aurora’s Splash Pad was awarded the Best Splash Pad in Northeast Ohio in the 2025 Parent Choice awards for Northeast Ohio Parent magazine. 

The Mayor put a focus on 2 Departments: Service and Parks and Recreation. Service Department items include:  Stormwater improvements project in the Geauga Lake neighborhood in scheduled to begin in the next few weeks. An application is being submitted to Ohio EPA for additional funding to purchase 5 more properties, if accepted. There have been several water main breaks- East Blvd at Lloyd, Russet Woods Drive in Walden and State Route 43 near Starbucks. The Aurora Park project is proceeding with some demolition occurring. They would like to realign the intersection at Squires Road and Brewster Road at the Portage/Geauga County Line. An Application to Planning Commission for a conditional zoning certificate for Aurora Park is being presented by MKSK – the consulting firm hired to provide design services. The Aurora Cemetery is being expanded south to add 420 additional plots without hampering the existing ballfields. Streetlights will be installed on South Chillicothe Rd. this summer. The city is under contract for the design of sidewalks on Bissell Road/SR43 and Aurora Hudson Rd. 
Parks and Recreation items include: The Aurora Trail Grand Opening on June 28 from 11-1 at Paddock River Preserve parking lot with food and activities planned.  There is improved irrigation at City Hall, The Walker Building, the Police Department, Fire Station 1 and Pioneer Park. Hartman Park athletic complex irrigation system has been successfully installed and will be operational soon. A Demo model of a used automated mower was purchased at a reduced price instead of a new mower that had been budgeted. The new Ravine Bridge at Paddock River Preserve will be installed this fall. Additional AEDs are being made available at recreational facilities in compliance with HB 47. Park counters are helping track park usage at various locations. A newly added counter at Kiwanis-Moore Park estimates that 25,000 people visited the park in May alone. Sunny Lake Park’s walking  path had over 100,000 users over the course of the past 12 months.
The Mayor did her Community Focus television taping and completed articles for “Aurora Neighbors” and “Walden Life”. She swore in 3 Firefighter/Paramedics. Presented a 10 year anniversary proclamation to Charm Salon and attended the Splash Bash. The Chamber is holding its annual golf outing on Monday September 8 and is renaming it in honor of her husband, David.

Law Director’s Report: Mr. DePiero spoke briefly about the concept of Consent Agenda Items, introduced at the last meeting, being “a great idea” as they continue to pursue it. 


Citizens Comments – None
 Council Remarks – None

Ordinances on 3rd  Reading:

• The Ordinance concerning the Tax Budget was adopted.
  
• The Ordinance accepting the proposal for the purchase of GETAC cloud storage for body cameras and dash cameras was adopted.
  

Ordinance on 1st Reading: 

• An Ordinance selecting the bid of Cistones Excavating Services, LLC to replace the Watermain on Chandler Lane and Chandler Drive was adopted with rules suspended.
  

Citizens Comments: None
Council Members Remarks: None

Meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m.

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