Aurora City Council on Oct. 14 eyed but did not pass a number of measures, instead deciding to see the items through the required three-reading process for non-emergency legislation.
New to council was a 12-year, 100% property tax abatement for Piping Rock Health Products in return for that company’s $19 million investment to its property at 777 Lena Dr.
The company maintains a packaging and warehouse facility at the property and plans to add on to one structure and build another. Documents submitted to the city indicate that in 2026, the company plans to add 20 new jobs at its Aurora site, which already has 260 employees.
The new employees would add $1.16 million to the company’s payroll. Aurora’s income tax rate is 2%, so even with the tax abatement, the city will realize about $23,200 in increased revenue, payroll administrator Marcy Janus said.
Council will consider the legislation later this month, with the third required reading in early November.
Also in upcoming sessions, council will consider a five-year, $150,000-a-year contract with LTech Solutions Ltd., which manages all of Aurora’s IT and telecommunications. The price represents a 4.2% increase over what the city currently pays LTech, which has held Aurora’s contract since 2019.
That matter remains in committee: council will review it for the first time later this month.
Council is also eying a $98,330 contract with ZoneCo LLC to evaluate, update, rewrite and modernize Aurora’s zoning code and subdivision regulations, which haven’t been updated since 2000.
The update is meant to eliminate contradictions, improve clarity and create a code consistent with current laws.
The company will submit their recommendations to Aurora’s Planning Commission, then to City Council, which will vote on each proposed change, said Planning, Zoning and Building Director Denise Januska.
Like the tax abatement measure, council will review the Zoneco contract later this month and early in November.
A proposal for the Aurora Police Department to purchase 18 Automated External Defibrillators from Stryker Corp., a Kalamazoo, Michigan-based medical technologies company, is set to go to third reading.
The necessary funds — $33,074 — would be drawn from the city’s share of the opioid settlement fund. According to a Sept. 11 memo council received, APD currently has eight AEDs “in the field” and several more in other city buildings. Most were purchased in 2007, and the memo indicates that replacement batteries, pads and repairs will not be available for that model “in approximately one year.” The model itself is being discontinued, the memo reads.
Council is expected to vote on the matter later this month.
Council members did approve:
- A $5,152 annual contract to continue its association with Metro SWAT, a special response team that serves 25 agencies in Portage and Summit counties. Each community’s contract is based on population. Other Portage County Metro SWAT members are Brimfield, which pays $3,580 annually; Kent, which pays $8,898; Kent State University, which pays $1,640; Ravenna, which pays $3,571; Streetsboro, which pays $5,443; the village of Windham, which pays $525; and NEOMED, which pays $550.
- $31,415 to replace an existing culvert on Page Road near Bartlett Road.
- A conditional zoning certificate for MJ Property Group to build a storage facility at 300 Lena Dr.
- A $55,920 cleaning contract with Spark Clean to clean city buildings. The contract authorizes the company to provide up to $18,000 in additional services, and the city has the option to renew the contract for two more years. The price will increase to $58,752 for the final year of the contract.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.