Aurora awards $8.5 million contract to Chardon-based company for wastewater overhaul

When a homeowner’s wastewater system goes bad, the cost is substantial. When a city’s wastewater system needs attention, the price tag is huge.

That’s the case in Aurora, which on Monday awarded an $8.5 million contract to Chardon’s Cold Harbor Building Co. to upgrade the city’s central wastewater treatment plant. The facility’s current tank is undersized and unable to handle the amount of sludge that needs to be processed.

The upgrade at the plant, which is located off Route 306 about a mile north of downtown, is expected to take 18 months. To help with finances, Aurora scored a loan of some $5.5 million from Ohio’s Water Pollution Control Load Fund, which is through the EPA’s Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance.

Such a large project requires a lot of expertise. Council approved a $470,000 consulting contract with Stantec to handle engineering and management work connected with the upgrade.

Happy birthday, Aurora

Aurora is 50 years old this week, having observed its actual birthday this past Saturday.

Alex Pavloff, of Ohio’s Secretary of State office, congratulated city leaders past and present and sent a birthday gift: a framed copy of Aurora’s City Charter.

Age brings an appreciation of history, and Aurora is no exception to this rule. The city’s town hall, originally a schoolhouse, has regained its cupola. The cupola was lost in a fire sometime during the last century, but thanks to Rick Sandstrom, it’s back. Anyone who looks up will see an accurate representation of Aurora’s Western Reserve architecture from days gone by.

Residents also participated in a city-wide scavenger hunt, with the Kilroy and Dove families chosen at random as winners out of 61 submissions.

Shred your docs

The city will hold the first of two planned shred days from 9 a.m. to noon on April 17 at the City Hall parking lot. The event is reserved for Aurora residents only, with a maximum of six boxes per household. Residents are encouraged to mask up and remain in their cars.

New vehicles for Aurora PD

Council is also eyeing $114,000 for the purchase and equipage of three Chevy Tahoes, which will serve the city as new police vehicles. With trade-ins, the three vehicles will actually cost $84,262.

Having already approved $24,000 for a big carport, Council added an additional $7,000 to the project, which will shield Aurora Police Department’s 13 police cars from Ohio’s weather.