Aurora City Council & COW - 7/20/2026

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

Committee of the Whole (COW): The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Chairman John Kudley.  All Council members were present: Reva Barner, Brad Duguay, Sarah Grdina Gilmore, George Horvat, Dennis Kovach, John Seitz, Ralph Ware and Scott Wolf. There were 10 City Officials and Employees present. There were 4 citizens present.

Minutes from June 8, 2026 were adopted with J. Kudley abstaining
Minutes from June 30, 2026 were adopted with R. Barner, B. Duguay and S. Grdina Gilmore abstaining.

Finance Director’s Report: “Fund Balances remain in a healthy position with $48,714,367 unencumbered in all funds and $19,525,530 unencumbered in the General Fund.” The 2025 financial audit has been completed with a clean opinion and the Auditor of State is expected to release the report next month. The same positive trend as last year is being shown.

New Business:
 There were 3 Resolutions and 4 Ordinances proposed for action that evening on 1st Reading:

• A Resolution amending Ord. 2026-082 Road & Bridge Levy. An incorrect date was listed on the ballot. This is a renewal so the correct date is November 2021 for the last date it was on the ballot.
  
• A Resolution to amend Ord. 2026-101 Road & Bridge Levy due to additional language needed from a new statute to place it on the ballot in November.
  

• An Ordinance authorizing the purchase of 18 in-car routers from Access Wireless Data Solutions, LLC in the amount of $25,177.24, upgrading from 4G to 5G technology in the police vehicles. There is an incentive available until the end of July to credit the city $13,140.00 on the Verizon account, reducing the overall expense to $12,037.24. The monthly service use will also be reduced.
  
• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s appointment of Madison Loftis to membership on Aurora’s Architectural Board of Review as an alternate member, replacing Valoree Vargo She is an Aurora resident who is very eager to be involved.
  
• An Ordinance amending Employees Generally to reflect changes in compensation for 3 individuals, a full-time police officer cadet who will move into an existing full-time police officer, another police officer and a promotion of a part-time firefighter to a part-time firefighter/EMT.
  
• An Ordinance selecting the bid of RJK Roofing in the amount of $95,150.00 for the Town Hall Roof Replacement project. In answer to questions posed by Council members Mr. Stark replied that the roof was in dire need of replacement. It was re-bid with a raise in the estimate. It should be completed by the Fall. Guarantees are not very reliable but it should be about 20 years.
  
• An Ordinance accepting the quotation to enter into a contract with ClearSpan in the amount of $34,126.13, which includes a 10% contingency, for the repair of the salt dome that was installed in 2019. There is a rip in the tarp which is getting worse and it is necessary to have this repaired immediately to protect the salt inside. There is a 60% warranty for 7 years. A claim has been submitted to the insurance company since it was storm damaged. Mr. Horvat asked what contingencies there might be and Mr. Stark said salt is corrosive and there may be damage they are unaware of yet. This should happen sooner as the company has the necessary supplies on hand.
  

There was 1 Ordinance proposed for 1st Reading:

• An Ordinance “accepting a donation of four 8’ x 12’ Kwikgoal soccer goals from Next Play Soccer valued at $13,220.00.” In answer to several questions posed by Council, Director Laura Holman explained that this is a parent led organization for travel soccer and these are travel size goals- not the size used by Aurora. Aurora does not offer travel soccer and is only being asked to keep the goals on the soccer fields and may provide some maintenance on them. They are on wheels and will be moved out of the way when the fields are needed for other sports. There is no priority scheduling.
  

Meeting adjourned at 6:23 pm

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City Council (CC):   Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 6:26 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.  

June 8, 2026 Meeting Minutes were adopted with J. Kudley abstaining.
June 30, 2026 Meeting Minutes were adopted with R. Barner, B. Duguay and S. Grdina Gilmore abstaining.

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.
            Sidewalk Assistance Program is accepting applications until August 5.
            National Night Out is Tuesday, August 4, 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Kiwanis-Moore Park which will feature free food, fun, city vehicles and equipment.
            Tax Free Holiday August 7-9, 2026
            Safety Forces Bike Rodeo August 8, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. at Miller Elementary School
             First Day of School August 18.

Aurora Park: “The conceptual plan of the park is coming to life as the contractors on site are working tirelessly through all the weather conditions. Most, if not all, underground work is complete allowing for surface level improvements to take place. Concrete pathways are being poured while some building structures are taking form (IT building and restroom/office building)”



ODOT Paving: Paving of 82 east to Townline began the week of July 6. The milling process of 306 to Crackel Road was expected to start July 20 but hadn’t as of this meeting.

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 and enjoy special giveaways and activities, collecting stamps along the way. If participants visit enough stops, they will earn entry to the After Party at Bicentennial Park, where participants will receive a special treat and have a chance to win raffle prizes.”

Senior Bus has arrived and is already in use.

Property Tax Delay: Because of Ohio law changes, the Ohio Tax Commissioner has extended the property tax payment deadline from the standard July due date to August 31, 2026.

Focus on Service Department

The Mayor listed many projects nearing completion, ongoing and routine maintenance, improvements and special projects including: The Westerly Trunkline Replacement is nearing completion; The next phase of sidewalks on North Bissell Road along 43 is being designed; 4 remaining properties covered by the FEMA grant will soon be demolished and restored to green space; AquaDoc will maintain the water quality of the basins in the Geauga Lake area; Additional paving efforts on Len Court and a portion of East Jackson Road; City made improvements to the walkways at the Aurora Memorial Library and focused on full-depth joint repairs in the Wellington Subdivision; Routine maintenance of storm and sanitary sewers throughout the city; Wastewater Treatment Plant improvements and the Waterline at SR82 and SR43 was upgraded and improved. 
             
  Mayor’s Office: Since the last Council meeting the Mayor “attended a MAPPS meeting at FirstEnergy headquarters, participated in Aurora’s 4th of July festivities, swore in Police Sergeant Nathan Boston, met with three new board/committee members, recorded my Community Focus report, attended our Audit Conference, attended the swearing in of new Municipal Court Judge Mary Beth Kiah, wrote articles for Aurora Neighbors and Walden Life, and married a couple from Aurora.”

The Mayor added that specific requirements are being added before any drilling can be done in Aurora. OUPS requirement is a line on the application. First Energy is claiming they don’t have to abide by that so lawyers are now looking into it.

There were 2 questions posed about the proposed walking path around Geauga Lake. The City owns the easement but there are a number of issues to work out. There will be walking paths as part of the different phases as the Park develops and there are no time frames on the project yet.
     
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:

Ordinance on 3rd Reading:

• An Ordinance granting an easement to Lynk Packaging to allow emergency vehicles ingress and egress was adopted.

Ordinance on 2nd 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 was adopted with rules suspended.

Ordinances and Resolutions on 1st Reading: 

• The 3 Resolutions and 4 Ordinances proposed at COW for action that evening were adopted with Rules Suspended. See COW for details.
• The Ordinance accepting a donation of 4 Kwikgoal soccer goals from Next Play Soccer valued at $13,220.00 went to 2nd Reading and was moved to the consent calendar.

Citizens Comments: None

Council Members Remarks: Mr. Ware is the council rep for the Chamber of Commerce and will keep Council updated on the list of activities including the Birthday Bash. The Dueling Pianos fundraiser was very successful. Mr. Duguay agreed the Piano Fundraiser was very good. He thanked Parks and Rec for the upgrades to Liz Strahan Park. He also commented that the 4th of July events were very well done. Mr. Kovach asked if any additional work needed to be done for the installation of the in-car routers for the Police Department. Answer: No. Mr. Horvat remarked that the clean up after the 4th of July events was great.
  
Meeting adjourned at 6:59 p.m.
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