By Jason Crane
Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin, the outgoing 59th mayor, says goodbye Tuesday, May 6, at his last Aurora Committee of the Whole meeting as mayor, after sharing the achievements of his administration. “To my beloved city of Aurora, I came, I saw, we conquered.”
Irvin served on the City Council for a decade as alderman-at-large and 8 years as mayor.
Mayor-elect John Laesch who served one term as alderman-at-large, is scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday, May 13.
•The Aurora City Council is considering approval of a Resolution authorizing the director of the Purchasing Department to provide funding to Leopardo Construction of Hoffman Estates, Ill. in the amount of $29,484,587 for the complete Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) scope, not including soft costs, plus a 5% contingency for construction of the new Fire Department Headquarters and Fire Station #4.
Authorizing the allocation of funds to Leopardo Construction in order for them to execute the contracts for the construction of the new Fire Department Headquarters. Completion of the building of this station will provide reduced response times, therefore providing greater protection of life and property to the citizens of Aurora. In addition, the move into new Fire Station #4 will eliminate the increasing cost of maintaining and repairing the outdated Fire Station #4. The new facility will provide a new home for the fire department administration, who have presently outgrown Central Station at 75 N. Broadway. The fire department headquarters will also provide the Aurora Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) with office and vehicle space, as well provide a new and updated emergency operations center (EOC), that will be utilized by AEMA to coordinate disaster response.
In 2021, the Aurora Fire Department hired a consultant to conduct a fire station location analysis to establish optimal locations for a planned additional fire station and relocation of two stations, required to effectively meet fire and EMS service demand due to the continued growth and development of the city.
The study determined it would be in the best interest of the public and the Fire Department to construct a new Station #13 and relocate Stations #9 and #4. Following council approval, a capital improvement plan (CIP) for the relocations and new buildings was submitted and approved. Staff released a request for proposals (RFP) on May 15, 2022, for architectural services and in March 2024 issued an RFP to select a Construction Manager where Leopardo Construction was approved as the construction manager for the Fire Department Headquarters project on August 27, 2024.