Aurora City Council & COW - 6/8/2026

Aurora, Ohio, City Council and Committee of the Whole
​June 8, 2026

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, Sarah Grdina Gilmore, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach and John Seitz. John Kudley and Ralph Ware were absent. There were 11 City Officials and Employees present. There were 2 citizens present.

Minutes from May 26, 2026 were adopted.

New Business:
 There were 5 Ordinances and 1 Resolution proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance amending Employees Generally to reflect changes in compensation for 4 employees. 2 are for Police Officer Cadets, both Aurora residents who were in the top 10 of their class, and will go through Police Academy and Peace Officer Test before they are sworn in. They will move into already approved places in the Police Department. In answer to questions, Chief Byard said recruitment is tough and the PD is down 4 officers. If for some reason they leave before 3 years there is a clause in the contract that they will reimburse the City for their training. 1 hire is for a Dispatcher and the other is for an employee returning from maternity leave into  part time Community relations while retaining status as a part time officer.
  
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of an Inmar Marine Group 600R-DR water rescue boat and associated fitments and accessories from Heritage Fire Equipment in the amount of $55,131.10. There is 1 model in stock at pre-tariff pricing which will save the city approximately $7,000.00. With the purchase of Geauga Lake there is a need for a bigger and better boat for rescue. The conditions are different than Sunny Lake. There is a 24’x24’ shed at the Aurora Park to store it. In answer to questions Chief McBirney said there was only 1 quote because Portage County had done research on this, had gotten 3 quotes and shared the information with Aurora. There will be a few items that will need to be purchased – a few flotation items and a sonar system that will cost about $3,000.00. Most everything else is included in the quote. Emergency clause is necessary as the quote has a deadline.
  
• An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to apply for a Natureworks grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) for financial assistance with the toddler play area at Aurora Park at Geauga Lake. The filing deadline is July 1, 2026.
  
• An Ordinance awarding a contract to Hummel Construction Company in the amount of $232,650.00 for renovations at the James Converse Building at 10 S. Chillicothe Rd. This is the 3rd time for a bid which has been going on for several years. This company “did a similar job in Peninsula and it looked good”. The City wants to get on their calendar as soon as possible.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s appointment of Diane Bush to membership on Aurora’s Landmark Commission for the term ending December 31, 2028. She expressed an interest in being on the Commission and lives in the Historic District.
  

• An Ordinance amending Employees generally to clarify “Holidays”. Reference to “observed” holiday will be removed to clarify that an employee will earn double time for working on the actual holiday. There are 4 holidays: Memorial Day, 4th of July, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that will affect non-union employees.
  

There were 4 Ordinances proposed for 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance extending the moratorium until December 31, 2026 with respect to Vape shops, e-cigarette shops, etc. The city is going through a zoning code review and there will be local and state considerations.
  
• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of a vacant lot on Eldridge Rd. in the amount of $45,000.00 plus applicable closing costs not to exceed $5,000.00. The property was appraised at $60,000.00. A creek runs through the property which has seen erosion. The city wants to eliminate any future erosion that was undermining the culvert work. Options are being looked at.
  
• An Ordinance approving a change order to the current contract with Ronyak Paving, Inc in the amount of $118,920.00 to expand the scope of resurfacing work beyond what was authorized in the original contract. After the initial paving was done, some money remained and the work will be done in July on 2 roads that were in poor condition.
  
•  An Ordinance granting an easement to Lynk Packaging for the purpose of providing vehicular and pedestrian ingress and egress for emergency purposes to allow emergency vehicles access for safety services. With the large addition being planned and for its approval, they need an area for emergency access. The City will give them an easement which will not be paved but give them emergency access.
  

Meeting adjourned at 6:22 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 adopted.

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 with Nick Costa & Company (vintage Vegas hits).
            Youth Fishing Derby will take place on June 13 at Sunny Lake Park- register with the Parks and Rec Department.
            The Splash Pad, Snack Shack and the Sunny Lake Boathouse are open.
             Splash Bash will be on June 19 from noon-3 p.m. at Kiwanis-Moore Park.
            July 4th Fun Run registration is going on now and many activities are planned.


Aurora Park Update: Underground electric conduit is going in and where it is completed, electric line is also being installed in the conduit. Good weather has helped with the continuing utility installation and grading. The pier framing is completed and approved. Foundation block at the Gatehouse buildings and IT building are being installed. ServPro has begun remediating the attic in the Gatehouse.

2026 Locate, Stay, and Grow Event: “On May 27, I attended the Portage Development Board’s 2026 Locate, Stay, and Grow event, recognizing 16 businesses that brought $118 million in investment to Portage County in 2025. Five Aurora businesses were recognized. Congratulations to Aurora Bulk Storage for receiving the Locate Award; LayerZero for receiving the Stay Award; and Piping rock, R.P. Gatta, and ThyssenKrupp (Rotek) for receiving the Grow Awards.”

Baseball: Aurora hosted 72 teams this past week and weekend for the Aurora Baseball League’s 45th Annual Community Tournament. “The Parks and Rec staff worked tirelessly to prepare all 16 fields for play. I would like to congratulate ABL President Kristen Lipson;   Tournament Director Eric Quinn, the ABL Board, and the many volunteers for the hard work that made this tournament a success.” The investment in Hartman Park was well worth it- there were lots of compliments.

4th of July Events: The annual Fun run and 5K begin at 8 a.m. The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. followed by the festival at Kiwanis-Moore Park from noon to 3 p.m.. There will be a special concert featuring Moonshine Groove at Kiwanis-Moore Park from 7-9 p.m. followed by fireworks at dusk.
              
  Mayor’s Office: Since the last Council meeting the Mayor “attended the 2026 Locate, Stay, and Grow event; met with River Kale from Congressman Dave Joyce’s Office; recorded my June Community Focus program; and attended the annual meeting of the League of Women Voters of Northern Portage County.”
 
     
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 and 1 Resolution on the Consent Calendar were on 2nd 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; The Resolution submitting to the electors the renewal of an existing 0.9-mill tax levy for roads, etc. (this item was moved to the regular agenda); An Ordinance amending “Contracts & Performance Bonds”; An Ordinance amending to establish a rounding policy to align with currency in circulation.

Ordinances and Resolution on 2nd Reading:

• An Ordinance declaring surplus and unnecessary certain property be advertised for sale via online auction was adopted with rules suspended.
  
• 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 removed from the Consent Calendar went to 3rd Reading with a public hearing date set for June 22, 2026.
  
• 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 went to 3rd Reading.
  
• 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 went to 3rd Reading.
  

Ordinances and Resolution on 1st Reading:

• The 4 Ordinances proposed for Action on First Reading were adopted with rules suspended. See COW for details.
  
• The Resolution confirming the appointment of Diane Bush to the Landmark Commission was adopted with rules suspended.
  
• An Ordinance to clarify “observed” holiday was adopted with rules suspended.
  
• An Ordinance extending the moratorium on Vape shops, etc went to 2nd Reading.
  
• An Ordinance to purchase a vacant lot on Eldridge to help control stormwater damage went to 2nd Reading.
  
• An Ordinance approving a change order to the current contract with Ronyak Paving to add 2 more streets with money that was not all used for this year’s road paving was adopted with Rules Suspended.
  
• An Ordinance granting an easement to Lynk Packaging to allow emergency vehicles ingress and egress went to 2nd Reading.
  

Citizens Comments: None

Council Members Remarks: None
  

Meeting adjourned at 6:47 p.m.

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