Aurora approves contracts for license plate readers

Aurora City Council on Nov. 6 approved a five-year, $87,500 contract with Flock Safety, which maintains and stores data from seven license plate readers it leases to the city.

The readers are an investigative tool the city has been using, Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin said.

The $17,500 annual contract is effective through 2028. The contract was not put out for public bid because the equipment belongs to Flock Safety, and the company provides professional service for it, she added.

Funds for the contract are being drawn from the city’s general fund and from Aurora’s share of recoveries made in concert with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

City leaders also approved a $148,330 contract with ZoneCo to evaluate, update, rewrite and modernize Aurora’s zoning code.

The city’s zoning code hasn’t been thoroughly reviewed since 2000, Womer Benjamin said.

ZoneCo will be tasked with eliminating contradictions and redundancy, improving clarity and creating a code that is consistent with current laws. Its staff will forward recommendations to Womer Benjamin’s administration, which will take final changes to Aurora’s Planning Commission and City Council.

“We do not expect that electorate approval will be required because we are not changing the zoning classification or density of any property,” she said.

Funds to pay ZoneCo will be drawn from the city’s capital improvement fund.

Another $192,000 will go to Trojan Technologies, which will replace ultraviolet light disinfection equipment at Aurora’s wastewater treatment plant. Funds will be taken from the city’s sewer capital fund.

City council also confirmed Womer Benjamin’s reappointment of Harry Stark as Aurora’s director of public services, effective Nov. 1 of this year and continuing until Dec. 31, 2025. Additional confirmations included:

Deborah Davis: Tree Commission
Rob Swaney: Tree Commission
Kim Pease: Tree Commission
Dale Moravec: Tree Commission
Joel Snider: Earned Income Tax Board of Review
Michael Hydell: Earned Income Tax Board of Review
Frank Vitale: Audit Committee
Bruce Geier: Audit Committee
Anthony Gramm: Board of Zoning Appeals
Jim Maulis: Planning Commission
Jeff Clark: Landmark Commission
Ralph Ware: Landmark Commission
Stan Smith: Architectural Board of Review
Valoree Vargo: (alternate) Architectural Board of Review

The city continues to postpone a $4.5 million purchase of the former SeaWorld lakefront property and part of Geauga Lake, as well. Law Director Dean DePiero has consistently said that negotiations continue and are slowly proceeding.