By Jason Crane
The Aurora City Council discussed ward redistricting and came to an agreement after 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23 at the Aurora City Council meeting.
After concessions of varying degrees in each alderperson’s ward, approved was Plan 2A with an amendment suggested by Ward 9 alderman Edward Bugg that the Summerlin area goes back to Ward 9. See bottom of the page for rendering of Plan 2A.
After the 2020 Census numbers showed Aurora had a loss of more than 17,000 residents, approximately nine percent of the population, the Aurora city government hired Ross Secler and Frank Calabrese to create several ward maps for the Council to vote on.
The law requires that districts have to be equally represented based on population.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has the responsibility for enforcement of provisions of the Voting Rights Act that seek to ensure that redistricting plans do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in a protected-language minority group.
• The City Council honored the eighth grade winning team, OMG from Granger Middle School in Aurora. In June it won the 20th annual E-CYBERMISSION national judging and educational event.
The team studied the impact of different soil additives on increasing the magnesium content in food crops and determined a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution. The team is comprised of students Nidhi Sagaram, Samil Sharma, and Viraj Vyas and led by team advisor Aruna Rao.
Sixty-five middle school students from around the country converged at the Nation’s capital where winners were announced. E-CYBERMISSION is a U.S. Army sponsored, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics competition.
The annual event challenges students in grades six through nine across America to advance their education in STEM. More than 8,400 students from the U.S. and Department of Defense Educational Activity schools throughout the world registered to compete in the national competition.
• Four individuals used their voices for up to three minutes each:
Donna Zine was back to complain about the City government administration allowing an out of State company to purchase the property at 970 N. Lake Street which has been vacant since 2017.
Adam Pauley thanked those who voted for LGBTQ Advisory Board.
Matt Orr shared concerns about the lack of information on the new City ward districting maps.
Casildo Cuevas criticized the Aurora City government for not getting more information about the ward redistricting maps out to the public.
• Tabled and sent back to the Finance Committee, after being placed on unfinished business for a second time was a Resolution setting local fees imposed on video gaming operations.
The purpose is to update and revise Chapter 8 fees related to “Amusements.”
City government of Aurora documents show at the end of 2021, the Illinois legislature amended the Illinois Video Gaming Act to require that any fees enacted under the statute shall be shared equally between the restaurant establishment and the terminal owner. This change has triggered the City government to re-evaluate and update amusement fees. City of Aurora amusement fees were last revised in September 2019.
The initial revised fee schedule will become effective on October 1, 2022, which is the start of the City’s video gaming license year. What is now an annual $1,000 citywide “distributors” fee will become a per location license fee of $1,000 to be divided evenly between terminal operator and the licensed establishment. The monthly terminal fee of $125 which had been allocated $100 for the terminal operator and $25 for the licensed establishment would be evenly apportioned as well. For a licensed establishment this will represent an annual cost of $750 per machine (an increase of $450). The total impact to a licensed establishment as a result of these changes will be between $950 and $2,750 annually depending on the number of machines on site.
Beginning on October 1, 2023, the annual license fee will increase by $100 per location and the monthly operational fee will increase by $50 per machine. This would represent an annual per machine increase of $600 to be split evenly between the terminal operator and the licensed establishment plus the $100 location fee – or between $350 and $1,500 annually for a licensed establishment, again depending on the number of terminals present.
The City Council approved the following agenda items:
• Approved was an Ordinance establishing the Aurora Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Advisory Board Under Chapter 2, Article VI of the Code of Ordinances.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to create an advisory board comprised of a diverse, knowledgeable group of members serving as an advisory board to the City Council concerning the needs of the LGBTQ community.
The creation of this board was announced earlier this year and will create a board dedicated to elevating the voices and addressing the needs of the LGBTQ community. Additionally, it will allow the City government to further a goal of citywide equity and inclusion.
The format, mission and goals of the Board will plan to align with other current city boards, commissions and councils.
The Board will be managed through the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, which leads the city’s equity and inclusion initiatives. The Department also manages the African-American Heritage Advisory Board, the Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board, the Indian American Community Outreach Advisory Board, and the Human Relations Commission.
This advisory body will be tasked with the following:
Organizing, supporting and/or promoting events recognizing June as Pride Month in Aurora;
Encouraging the education, advocacy and community involvement of the city’s LGBTQ youth;
Help promote greater awareness and cross-cultural understanding;
Serve as an advisory body to the City Council regarding issues potentially affecting the LGBTQ community or the LGBTQ community as a whole;
Recommend to the City Council measures designed to enhance the health, safety, economic opportunity of the LGBTQ community;
Coordinate and/or participate in educational programs to promote equal treatment, opportunity of the LGBTQ community.
Work with other city boards, commissions and councils to address areas of common interest and concern.
• Approved was an Ordinance abrogating a drainage and conservation easement on the property at the southern end of Wolverine Drive, in DuPage County, Aurora.
City government of Aurora documents show the Petitioner PT Land, LLC is requesting the Abrogation of a Drainage and Conservation Easement for the property at the southern end of Wolverine Drive which includes abrogating the current boundary of the easement to allow for a new boundary being granted with the Final Plat for Liberty Meadows Subdivision.
The Property is vacant land that was rezoned from ORI (C) Office, Research, and Light Industrial District zoning to R-4A(C) Two-Family Dwelling District and OS-1 (C) Conservation, Open Space, and Drainage District with a Conditional Use on May 10, 2022.
The Petitioner is requesting the Abrogation of a Drainage and Conservation Easement. The details of the request include abrogating the current easement to allow for a new boundary of the easement to be granted with the Final Plat for Liberty Meadows Subdivision. This will allow for the development of a 91-unit townhome community.
Concurrently with this proposal, the Petitioner is requesting approval of a Final Plat Revision for Lot 2 of Liberty Street Business Park Subdivision and establishing Lots 1-21 of Liberty Meadows Subdivision. The details of the request include a plat subdividing the property into 18 building lots, two common open space lots surrounding the buildings, and the stormwater detention and drainage and conservation easement lot.
Concurrently with this proposal, the Petitioner is requesting approval of a Final Plan for Lots 1-21 of Liberty Meadows Subdivision for a Row Dwelling (Party Wall) (1130). The details of the request include developing 91 townhomes and associated detention. Wolverine Drive will be extended from its current dead-end south and east onto the site and ends with a circular turnaround. A westbound left turn lane will be added on Liberty Street at Wolverine Drive. The project includes the development of 18 buildings with rear-loaded garages containing a total of 91 units on 15.66 acres. The units range in size from 1,760 square feet to 2,220 square feet and contain three bedrooms. Each unit has a two-car garage and two-car driveway with visitor parking available on the street. The homes sit perpendicular to the extended Wolverine Drive with private drive aisles extending from the road to the rear loaded garages. A sidewalk will be added on both sides of the road within the development. To the north of the townhomes will be the stormwater detention for the site.
The Landscape Plan provides streets trees lining the new road, shrubs and understory trees all around the building foundations, and landscape beds scattered along the road, at the sign, and at the detention facility to provide some visual focal points. To provide buffering to the townhomes to the west and south, the development provides clustering of trees along the perimeters in those areas and rows of evergreen trees, a fence, and hedgerow at the end of the private drives leading to the rear-loaded garages.
The Elevations depict buildings that are 2 ½ stories in height in the front and 3 stories in the rear. The façade is varied through a slight height change in the main roof, cross-gables clad in a variety of material with a bracket in the gable center, and porches of varying roofs supported by columns on stone piers. The buildings are clad in stone along the first story with a mixture of horizontal vinyl siding, vertical hardie siding, and hardie shake siding, creating a diverse front façade. The rear façade feature balconies. The side facing the street includes additional stone along the bottom.
Staff members have reviewed the Final Plat Resolution petition and have sent comments back to the petitioner on those submittals. The petitioner has made the requested revisions to these documents and they now meet the applicable codes and ordinances, with the exception of the items reflected in the conditions listed in the staff members recommendation below.
The staff members’ evaluation and recommendation are based on the following Physical Development Policies:
12.1(9) To guide development and redevelopment into energy efficient land use patterns;
11.1(3) To encourage new development contiguous to existing development;
21.1(2) To promote a wide variety of housing type;
23.1(3) To encourage quality design and practicable innovations in both housing structures and site development.
Staff members would recommend conditional approval of an Ordinance abrogating a drainage and conservation easement on the Property at the southern end of Wolverine Drive, in DuPage County, Aurora, with the following condition:
That the Plat of Abrogation be recorded simultaneously with the Final Plat of Liberty Meadows Subdivision.
• Approved was a Resolution authorizing an agreement with TinkRworks LLC, 501 W Lake St Ste 106, Elmhurst, for the provision of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics (STEAM) project kits and curriculum to serve an additional 400 underserved youth in an amount not to exceed $75,000.00.
City government of Aurora documents show TinkRworks is a provider of K-8 STEAM projects designed to allow students to foster a love of creating, enhance problem-solving skills, reinforce, and expand on concepts & ideas taught in schools, inspire curiosity, and encourage self-expression.
The purpose of this resolution is to continue and expand upon the continued partnership between APS Training Institute (“APS”), City of Aurora and TinkRworks that has enabled the successful implementation of top-tier STEAM curriculum supporting the delivery of highly valuable integrated STEAM experiences to the students of the City of Aurora.
The implementation of leading-edge TinkRworks STEAM learning will allow City of Aurora students to develop and hone core 21st century skillsets while also bringing to life foundational elements of the APS mission of being committed to the highest standards of academic excellence, providing a high-quality education while developing the knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills essential for the unique challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
As a result of a successful and highly-impactful 2021, the Aurora STEAM Academy, a collective partnership involving city government of Aurora, TinkRworks Inc., and APS Training Academy, was provided approval by the Aurora City Council to expand the reach of the program from 625 1st – 8th grade student projects in 2021 to 1,600 student projects across the 2022 calendar year.
The goal of the program remains identical to past years, namely to spark an interest in children to explore STEAM opportunities in the future and assimilate knowledge around key STEAM topics.
The total number of learners served/kits utilized, and locations served as of July 25, 2022:
Total learners served: 1,375
Unique student’s served: 776
ASA Courses Completed: 1,375
Statistics: Grades: K-2, 560 students, 41%; grades: 3-5, 558 students, 41%; grades 6-8, 256 students, 19%; grades 9-12, 1 student, 0%; Adults, 0 0%.
Serving location: APS Training Institute, 105 E. Galena Boulevard, Aurora, 870 students, 63%; schools, 255 students, 19%; community centers/church, 250 students, 18%; church, 0.
The program has exceeded expectations in terms of demographic targets, AMI (area median income) targets, and overall reach. In just the first half of 2022 (1H2022), child participation has been comprised of the following:
Enrolled learners through June 30: 1,375,
Hispanic or Black/African American participation: 69%,
Female participation: 45%,
Participants below 100 AMI: 95%,
Aurora resident participants: 95%.
As a direct consequence of the high demand for the Aurora STEAM Academy, they have already made their way through the bulk of the annual-allocated 1,600 student project kits through just the first half of 2022 and are in danger of pausing their efforts to provide additional opportunities to children as they cannot fulfill their current demand profile with the limited number of kits that remain.
To ensure continuity of access and opportunity for children across the City, the Aurora City Council is being asked to support a resolution to procure an additional 400 student project kits that will directly provide opportunities to children across the second half of 2022; in total the total STEAM project kits delivered in 2022 is anticipated to be 2,000 (1,600 original kits plus the 400 kits now being requested).
The cost to procure these additional 400 project kits is $75,000 which is the amount requested in the resolution. This monetary amount is the volume of additional kits sought (400) multiplied by the same unit-pricing ($187.50) listed in the original proposal spanning the 2022 year.
In accordance with City of Aurora Code of Ordinances, Section 2-335 (c), Council may award with a simple majority vote.
Funding for the program will be provided from the City government’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Funds have been set aside in the 2022 City Budget for the program. The Fund Account number to be used for this expense is 287-1280-419.50-30.
Outcomes empirically highlight that the ongoing goal of sparking student interest in STEAM activities was both met and exceeded by participants.
• Approved was a Resolution to approve the replacement of the Central Fire Station boilers from F.H. Paschen S.N. Nielsen & Associates, LLC, in the amount of $220,957.87.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to authorize the purchase and installation of new boilers, plumbing, and electrical, at Central Fire Station. To replace the older less reliable and efficient boilers in Central Station.
Central Fire Station was built in 1979. The boilers are the original boilers which are not very efficient and parts for repairs are getting harder and harder to find.
Replacing the boilers at Central Fire Station will ensure that come wintertime they will have a reliable source to heat the station and the new boilers will be much more efficient than the old boilers.
Using the Job Order Contracting program (R20-221) F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, LLC submitted the proposal and scope of work to replace the boilers, plumbing, electrical, etc. They will be using local vendor, Artlip and Sons, Inc.to replace the boilers.
As part of the 2022 Capital Improvement Plan, the fire department has $140,700 available in account 354-3033-422.38-05. Due to price increases they are short $82,257.87 and a budget transfer/amendment will be submitted.
The replacing of the boilers at Central Fire Station will make the heating system more reliable and much more efficient.
• Approved was a Resolution authorizing the director of Purchasing to enter into an agreement with Volunteer Supply Industries, Ltd., 105 E Galena Blvd, Suite 806, Aurora, in an amount not to exceed $375,820.00 for the purchase of lighting materials for various locations throughout the City.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to obtain approval to authorize the director of Purchasing to enter into an agreement with Volunteer Supply Industries, Inc., 105 E Galena Blvd, Suite 806, Aurora, IL 60505 in an amount not to exceed $375,820.00 for the purchase of lighting materials for various locations throughout the City.
Annually, the City government purchases and installs various light fixtures and associated components to upgrade or supplement existing fixtures throughout the City. To purchase the equipment, the City obtains competitively bid pricing from suppliers which are then installed by the City’s Electrical Division.
Based on an estimated quantity of materials needed, a request for sealed bids was published and three bids were read aloud on June 15, 2022. Of the three bids received, Volunteer Supply Industries, Ltd. was determined to be the lowest responsible bidder in the amount of $375,820.00. One of the bidders, Pure Light Company, was disqualified for submitting pricing for an unapproved alternate brand (Holophane) that is inconsistent with the City’s existing inventory of bollards, fixtures, and spare parts.
The bid was structured to indicate that the City may not purchase the full amount of any of the specified fixtures, but to establish the unit prices for the items that may be needed. Accordingly, the City only intends to open the initial purchase order in the amount of $166,870.00.
The funds required for this purchase will be paid from account 340-4020-418.65-07 (which has a current balance of $173,076.00). Should additional funding above and beyond the initial Purchase Order amount of $166,870.00 be required, a budget transfer will be required. In that event, the overall amount of $375,820.00 as authorized in this resolution will not be exceeded.
The bid was subject to the Local Bidder Ordinance, but that did not impact the bids as the local vendor was the low bidder.
• Approved was a Resolution authorizing an agreement with Burwood Group, Inc. for a SharePoint Discovery Assessment in a total contract amount not to exceed $25,000.
City government of Aurora documents show the City government is seeking to replace its outdated on-premises SharePoint platform that is losing maintenance support in summer 2022. The City government’s goal is to find a partner to perform the discovery of its data environment and then migrate relevant data to SharePoint Online.
The city of Aurora government (CoA) is replacing outdated and underperforming systems through its Technology Strategic Plan. Presently CoA file shares reside on SharePoint on-premises servers and this platform will not have Microsoft support moving forward causing a risk of exposure.
The advantages of migrating from SharePoint on-premises to SharePoint online are as follows:
Minimizing exposure by not having critical data on an unsupported platform;
Increasing efficiencies by not having to maintain/update anything locally, it would be done automatically;
Increases functionality by being available on all mobile devices;
Increases transparency via Co-Authoring ability – same-time editing, no check-in/check-out process;
Increases Security by leveraging functionality with 3rd parties.
The City engaged the Marketplace.city website to find a SharePoint migration partner to complete SharePoint migration in two parts:
1) Perform discovery of its data environment (discovery phase).
2) Migrate relevant data to SharePoint online (migration phase).
Process Overview:
Created Market Landscape with 25+ companies;
Created RFQ document based on city government of Aurora needs and industry best practices;
Based on the market landscape and City stakeholder review, publicly posted and distributed the Opportunity and Scope Document https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/marketplace-city/projects/18002https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/marketplace-city/projects/18002 for vendors to complete in order to be included in the reporting and selection process. It was posted and distributed on 3/16/22 and closed 4/6/22.
Based on the two-part nature of the project, first discovery and then migration, vendors were asked to price these components separately.
There were 14 responses completed by the deadline.
Based on the team’s review of the comparative data by Marketplace.city, four vendors were chosen for further meetings:
Burwood Group
Communication Square LLC
Orbis Solutions
Sentinel Technologies
After these demonstrations, Marketplace.city circulated scoring templates to the team, which were returned on May 18th.
The compiled scoring data selected Burwood Group as the chosen vendor.
Burwood Group, Inc. will be engaged to assess the data in the City’s current environment, identify what needs to be preserved, migrated, and provide a deliverable mapping the steps to do so by creating a timeline:
Analyze the current SharePoint on Premise configuration and content;
Deliver Project plan and migration timeline;
Outline dependencies, risks, and mitigations;
Deliverables:
Mitigation Plan for custom artifacts;
Migration timeline and plan;
Formal Proposal for full migration;
Recommendations for legacy features in SharePoint • Site Map for future state;
Estimated Fees – Burwood Group, Inc..
Note: This was not a budgeted item for 2022.
• Rendering of Ward Plan 2A:
