Aurora City Council & COW - 8/17/2026

Aurora Ohio City Council and Committee of the Whole
​August 17, 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 6 citizens present.

Minutes from July 20, 2026 were adopted.

Finance Director’s Report: “Fund Balances remain in a healthy position with $48,708,852 unencumbered in all funds and $19,552,352 unencumbered in the General Fund.” “The 2025 financial audit has been released by the Auditor of State’s office with an unmodified (“clean”) opinion. Many thanks to our Finance Department staff….along with all city employees and officials for their instrumental work in helping the city achieve this result!” Mr. Ware asked if there were any differences between this report and the last one to which Mr. Clymer answered there were some minor items to address but none worth reporting. Council voted to accept the report.

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

• An Ordinance amending “Employees Generally” to reflect changes in compensation. There were 9 promotions from several departments: Parks and Rec, Service and Fire Department.
  

• An Ordinance accepting the proposal of F & S Automotive, Inc. in the amount of $39,468.65 for the repair of rust damage to the frame of the 1999 Emergency One Fire Engine which is used as a backup vehicle for use within the department. Fire Chief McBirney gave background for the request. The body of the vehicle is aluminum and in good shape but upon inspection prompted by damage noted by another vehicle that had been inspected and declared ok by the current provider of  servicing the vehicles, the 1999 Engine was found to have severe damage to the frame. 3 repair shops were contacted for quotes for repairs and F & S Automotive in Mantua was the only one to give a quote. They proposed it in person, providing comprehensive paper work. They are a trusted vendor for the city. The damage was unexpected and therefore not included in this budget cycle. The Engine is needed as backup for the City’s firefighting readiness and therefore, after consulting with the Finance Director, was told the General fund would be able to support this emergency Ordinance. 4 Council members posed questions to the Chief and were satisfied with the answers and recognized the need for this to be repaired and made roadworthy as quickly as possible. The City is not expected to get a new Truck until 2033.
  

• An Ordinance assessing the cost of abating unpaid water and/or sewer invoices to property owners listed and submitting the invoices to the Portage County Auditor. In answer to a question from Council if there is any other deterrent for homeowners to pay their water/sewer bill, it was stated there is no other mechanism to charge them except for the late fee and then a tax lien.
  
• An Ordinance assessing the cost of abating lawn maintenance nuisances to property owners listed and submitting the invoices to the Portage County Auditor. A member of Council asked why it is mostly one homeowner who is being charged multiple times and what his background was, it was replied no other information is given and some people seem to prefer paying the city a lot more money than hiring a landscaping service to mow their property.
  

There was 1 Resolution and 1 Ordinance proposed for 1st Reading:

• A Resolution confirming the Mayor’s appointment of Eric Steinel to Aurora’s Tree Commission, replacing Gary Cook, for the term ending December 31, 2007. He is a very active member of the Aurora Community and asked to be on the Tree Commission.
  

• An Ordinance authorizing the decommission and sale of Police Canine Ory to his handler Sergeant Scott Brown in the amount of $2,500.00 and declaring an emergency to allow the department to move forward with pending promotional process. 6 Council members posed questions and commented on this to Chief Byard: 1 Member stated he didn’t like “selling a police officer”; answer: His handler is being promoted and it is in the best interest of the dog that he stay with the handler who has cared for him. Orly’s original cost was $14,000.00 and there was a lot of negotiation on the price. Aurora still has a Police dog and there is mutual aid from area Police Departments if there is a need. The life span of a Police Officer dog is between 6 and 8 years and Orly is 4 ½ years old. 2 Council members said they would like to see another dog but there aren’t any immediate plans to get one. There was general understanding of the difficulty of having a new handler and that this is the right thing to do for all concerned.
  

Meeting adjourned at 6:24 pm

​

---

City Council (CC):   Council President George Horvat called the meeting to order at 6:29 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.  

July 20, 2026 Meeting Minutes were adopted.

Appeal from the Decision of the Architectural Board of Review (ABR): 583 North Chillicothe Rd- Metal Roof. The owners of the house were present to explain their situation. There was a lengthy discussion about this issue. The homeowners relied on the Contractor to follow any rules, they were unaware of the Aurora code that does not allow metal roofs as there is one across the street from them. After the roof was installed they received a letter from the City that the metal roof was not permitted and they could go before the ABR to appeal. That was denied so their next recourse was to go before Council. Council expressed frustration that there is still is no updated code and requested that one be brought before Council soon. It was suggested that the Contractor be held responsible for any additional fees. The home is not in any of the developments that have a Western Reserve architectural style, sits back from the road, has an attractive metal roof color, there was no intent on the part of the homeowners to circumvent the rules of the City and were thanked for coming before Council to take the right steps to follow whatever was decided. Their appeal was unanimously approved.
Executive Session to discuss the Acquisition of Real Property. There was a 15 minutes session behind closed doors.

Mayor’s Report: Read by Karen Pope
  “City Calendar”:
            The Splash Pad open daily 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. through September 13
            Sunny Lake Park Boathouse open weekends 12 p.m.- 6 p.m.
            Food Truck Wednesdays’ last event will be August 26, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Kiwanis-
            Moore Park
            Summer Concerts will conclude on August 27 with Ricky and the Rockets 
            6:30 –  8:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.
             First Day of School August 18.
             Aurora Trail Challenge begins September 1 and runs through October 31.
             9/11 Memorial Ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Memorial Tree Garden at Sunny Lake.
             Classic Car Show 1 – 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 13 at Sunny Lake Park.

Aurora Park: “Our park is progressing at an amazing clip now that the underground work is done: Irrigation is being installed; the walkway/pathway is being installed; Electrical/metering work is a priority right now…; Work is being done on the gatehouse buildings; Trusses installed on new restroom and office building, roof structure is going up; New roofing and shingles will be installed in the next 2 weeks on existing buildings; Topsoil being installed.”

National Night Out: “What a wonderful time everyone had at this annual event. The weather was perfect and staff grilled around 560 hamburgers and 560 hot dogs. Thank you to all who organized and worked to make this event such a success!”

ODOT Paving: Paving of 82 and 306 is mainly complete, there are still miscellaneous items of work to be finished.

Property Tax Bill update: Tax bill were mailed August 7, due date is September 9.

Sidewalk Assistance Program: There have been 23 applications and 6 have committed to the program, the rest are waiting on or reviewing quotes.

Bow Hunting/Deer Lottery: Lottery entries are being accepted from Aurora residents until August 23.

FEMA: All properties in the FEMA Geauga Lake neighborhood project have been purchased and will be demolished and sites restored to green space which will finish the project.

Bob Luckay: “I am saddened to announce the passing of Bob Luckay, a beloved Aurora teacher, community activist, and former member of Council. ...He also taught many years in Aurora and was inducted into the Educator and Staff Hall of Fame in 2013. Bob made many contributions to this community over decades.”
             
  Mayor’s Office: Since the last Council meeting the Mayor “swore in Police Officer Adam Waterhouse, attended Safety Town graduation, toured Piping Rock with Congressman Dave Joyce, began 2027 budget meetings, recorded my August Community Focus at Aurora Park, attended National Night Out/Truck and Tractor night, met with FirstEnergy about upcoming projects, met with a High School student who is the President of his Model UN club, and met with the new CEO of Rotek.”
     
Law Director’s Report: Mr. DePiero’s report was included with the packet. He said they are working on metal roof guidelines, strengthening penalties to contractors, and they will come before Council to present them.

Council President’s Report: This evenings legislation was added. He extended compliments to the Police Department and Aurora employees. 4 Council members will make up the Clerk of Council Review Committee.

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

 Council Remarks on legislation –  None

Legislation:

Ordinance on 2nd Reading: 

• An Ordinance on the Consent Calendar, accepting a donation of 4 Kwikgoal soccer goals went to 3rd Reading.
  

Ordinances and Resolutions on 1st Reading: 

• The 4 Ordinances proposed at COW for action that evening were adopted with Rules Suspended. See COW for details. Mr. Duguay voted no to suspend rules for the repair of the Fire Engine but voted yes for approval.
  
• The Resolution to confirm the appointment of Eric Steinel to the Tree Commission went to 2nd Reading
  
• The Ordinance authorizing the decommission and sale of Police Canine Ory to his handler Sgt Scott Brown went to 2nd Reading.
  

Citizens Comments: Vic Sandhu, Republican Candidate for Ohio State Representative for District 35 introduced himself and asked what the local issues are concerning Aurora.

Council Members Remarks: Ms. Barner called attention to the need for repairs to the Barrington parking lot, asking that the city pressure the owner to make repairs. She continues to get complaints from residents of damage to their cars and the poor image it gives to the city. Mr. Ware is the council rep for the Chamber of Commerce and will keep Council updated on the list of activities coming up. Mr. Duguay gave a shout out to Parks and Rec for the upgrades to Liz Strahan Park. Mr. Seitz gave a shout out to Dave Frisbee for all of his work and positive attitude.
  
Meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m.