By Jason Crane
The Aurora City Council unanimously approved the appointment of James Birchall as chief Public Facilities officer and Derrick Winston as director of the Public Facilities Department at the Tuesday, Jan. 24 City Council meeting.
Lama Norbu Samdup of the Buddhist Studies and Meditation Center in Aurora led the invocation at the Aurora City Council meeting in remembrance of the lives lost in the mass shooting at a Lunar New Year event in California this week. A video of remarks given by mayor Irvin and the invocation can be viewed after the 7 minute 30 second mark on the city government of Aurora’s Facebook page by clicking here.
Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin presented his award of excellence to Trevor Dick, assistant director of the City’s Economic Development Commission. He was named 2022 Kane County planner of the year by APA College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified planners.
The video of the City government employee quarterly awards can be viewed after the 16 minute mark on the city government of Aurora’s Facebook page by clicking here.
• Eight individuals used their voices for up to three minutes each:
The majority of the speakers expressed concern about the impact of the HelloFresh/Factor 75 plant at the corner of Orchard Road and Indian Trail on Aurora’s West Side.
The property once was home to retail establishments and was granted special zoning for manufacturing and distribution.
Residents with properties near the facility complained about noise and air pollution claiming it has an impact on their health, property values, and overall quality of life.
Members of the City Council are not allowed to engage or respond to the speakers.
The video and comments can be viewed after the 30 minute mark on the city government of Aurora’s Facebook page by clicking here.
The City Council unanimously approved the following agenda items:
• Approved was a Resolution approving the appointment of James J. Birchall as chief Public Facilities officer.
• Approved was a Resolution approving the appointment of Derrick R. Winston as director of the Public Facilities Department.
• Approved was a Resolution approving the appointment of Ward 9 resident Joseph Weber to the Aurora Airport Advisory Board.
City government of Aurora documents show in June 2021, the City Council approved changes to Chapter 2, which included a sunset provision for all board/commission members. The sunset was included to bring the board/commission terms into compliance with the new dates provided in the ordinance, as well as survey members if they wished to continue to serve, or step down.
• Approved was a Resolution approving the re-appointment of Colette Rozanski, Dr. Adrian Talley, Dr. Jeff Craig, Patricia Rooney, Lynor Johnson, Dr. Mark Curtis-Chavez, Dr. Lisa Hichens, and Dr. Collette House to the Aurora Education Commission.
City government of Aurora documents show the nominations brought forth represent eight veteran candidates to serve a second term, if approved.
Rozanski is the president of R.C. Wegman Construction Co.; Dr. Talley is the superintendent of School District 204; Dr. Craig is a Ward 5 resident and the superintendent of School District 129; Rooney is the director of SPARK Aurora Early Childhood Collaboration; Johnson is the executive director of Fox Valley Montessori School; Dr. Curtis-Chavez is the provost of the College of DuPage; Dr. Hichens is the superintendent of School District 101; and Dr. Collette House is the superintendent of Aurora Christian.
• Approved was a motion authorizing and directing the chief Human Resources officer to execute a settlement agreement on behalf of the City in Worker’s Compensation Claim #188812841-001.
• Approved was a motion authorizing and directing the chief of Human Resources officer to execute a settlement agreement on behalf of the City in worker’s compensation claim #188378080.
• Approved was a Resolution requesting approval for a three-year software maintenance renewal agreement with Zencity Technologies US Inc. for the Zencity platform in the total amount of $264,000 ($88,000 annually).
City government of Aurora documents show Zencity is a platform for understanding people in the City on a wide scale. With the use of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, they analyze data from social media, City government hotlines, and other relevant sources, and provide Aurora government stakeholders with detailed, real time insights on how their citizens view and use the City. The analysis can be accessed through a web-based interface on desktop and mobile devices.
The City government has utilized the Zencity platform since 2019 (Resolution R20-093) for both social to 311 and the inclusion of Spanish algorithm to enhance city efforts to help collect, organize, and handle, potential resident request being shared on social media. Zencity’s unique machine learning technology can translate Spanish into English and thereafter assign a topic, category, and sentiment to posts and comments.
City government officials wish to extend the Zencity platform to utilize the community survey platform to perform surveys among residents concerning various City services. These types of surveys have been utilized by several government agencies to increase collaboration and transparency around City government officials’ decision making processes as well as gathering resident satisfaction metrics for better performance management.
The Zencity platform collects data about citizen interactions from a variety of sources and analyzes them in real time using a set of machine-learning based algorithms. The analyzed data can be accessed via a variety of graphs on the admin dashboard, including the following:
Platform features:
1.1. Category bar chart: The main bar chart shows how many interactions relate to each area of responsibility of the city, and what is the sentiment towards that topic. The name and number of topics can be modified to fit the customer’s needs based on the City government’s list of automatically identified sub-categories.
1.2. Alerts and notifications: The platform can create alerts about popular posts or comments or about significant changes in whole categories. The alerts can be accessed through the dashboard, but can go out on a daily, weekly, or real time basis, via Email, per the user’s request.
1.3. Word cloud: The word cloud shows the most popular terms used in interactions analyzed by the platform. The larger the word is the more popular it was.
1.4. Overall sentiment view: The overall sentiment pie chart shows the ratio of positive, negative, and neutral, interactions out of the total sum of interactions analyzed.
1.5. Popular stories: The rotating digest of popular stories shows the stories which received the most interactions across all data sources.
1.6. Map interface: The map interface will show all interactions which have a location property, divided by category, by type or in a heatmap format.
1.7. Category drill down: Each category has a drill-down view which shows the level of discussion over time in that category, alerts, word cloud, map and popular stories views which include data just for this category and an operative view of City hotline calls for the category – including open calls, calls over the last week and changes over time.
1.8. Conversation analysis: The third level of drill down will be the conversation analysis which allows drilling down to the level of stories themselves. In this view, users can analyse conversations based on category, date range, sentiment or keyword search, or a combination of the above, and see both the trend and the stories themselves that make up the data. Each story will include its source, category, sentiment, location and a link to the original content.
Data sources:
2.1. Facebook: They analyze all interactions (posts, comments, likes, tags etc.) from public pages and public groups, both official and unofficial. This includes official accounts of the city and other agencies, resident groups, accounts of local businesses, community organizations, causes and any other relevant page or open group.
2.2. Twitter:Apart from the same analysis employed on facebook, on twitter they also collect all geotagged interactions in the area and all interactions mentioning specific hashtags or keywords.
2.3. City hotline reports: They take all City hotline reports from City government database.
2.4. Additional sources: They may be able to incorporate other relevant data sources identified, such as local news sites, community message boards, other social media platforms etc.. General new data sources implemented (such as new social media platforms) will be offered once they are available. Unique sources (such as Aurora area news sites) will be discussed and agreed upon by both sides.
• Approved was a Resolution to accept agreement number 53468-0001 between the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) & the City of Aurora for the Corridor Improvements Grant Program Grant of $1.2 million for the IT Department.
City government of Aurora documents show the Corridor Improvements Grant will be used to install security cameras and license plate readers on city-owned posts and along city-owned sidewalks.
Following civil unrest on May 31, 2020, the Aurora Police Department and the IT Department identified areas of the city to place additional cameras and upgrade the existing camera inventory. A grant proposal was developed and submitted to the State of Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the Rebuild Distressed Communities Grant Program requesting funding to install cameras and license plate readers in the strategically identified locations. The state of Illinois government subsequently contracted with LISC to administer the Rebuild Distressed Communities Grant Program.
The new cameras will increase Aurora’s safety and security by providing surveillance coverage to support investigations and prosecutions. In areas with outdated cameras, the new equipment will provide higher-resolution images. The project will be managed by Scientel Solutions with oversight by the IT Department. Scientel Solutions was awarded the contract to maintain and manage the City’s security camera network as approved in Resolution 21-135 in June of 2021.
Expenditures under this grant will follow the city’s procurement requirements as well as the bondable requirements set by the Rebuild Illinois Program and all applicable state or federal regulations.
The grant provides 100% of the funding for the project and there is no local cost match involved with the project.
The following expense accounts will be used for this grant:
340-1280-419.61-40 – supplies-general/expendable tools/equipment purchases – $1,023,880
340-1280-419.32-20 – contracted services – $152,690
340-1280-419.32-80 – consulting fees – $23,430
The revenue account for this grant will be 340-1280-334.30-02. A budget amendment will be necessary as City government officials were uncertain if they would receive the grant at the time the 2023 City budget was prepared.
This grant project will result in improved safety and security for Aurora residents, businesses, and visitors. Equipment installed through this project will supplement and enhance the Aurora Police Department’s existing security surveillance capabilities. Management of the project and maintenance of cameras will be the responsibility of the city’s IT Department.
• Approved was a Resolution approving a preliminary plat and plan for Habitat Green Freedom subdivision, at 1921 Jericho Road.
City government of Aurora documents show the Petitioner, Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity, is proposing a preliminary plat and plan to allow for the construction of a new residential subdivision, which will include 17 single-family residential lots, and two outlots for stormwater control and landscaping. The homes require sweat equity from the homeowners and will have mortgages.
The Property is an approximately eight and a half acre vacant lot. The Property is zoned R-1(C), One Family Dwelling District with a conditional use planned development. The zoning for the Property was granted per O04-162, and was planned for a church and daycare per R04-511, but remains undeveloped. The comprehensive plan designates the property as low density residential, and designates adjacent portion of Jericho Road as a major collector.
The Petitioner, Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity, is requesting approval of a Preliminary Plat and Plan for 17 single-family residential lots, and two outlots for stormwater control and landscaping. The residential lots are platted and planned to satisfy the R-1, One Family Dwelling District’s minimum lot requirements and minimum bulk restrictions. The average residential lot area is 11,631 square feet. Garden Avenue runs through the center of the subdivision, and connects Lindenwood Drive to the west and Jericho Road to the south. The Garden Avenue right-of-way is 66 feet wide.
City staff members have reviewed the preliminary plan and 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.
• Approved was an Ordinance approving a revision to the Calvary Temple Church plan description on 107.3 acres for property at 9S200 State Route 59.
City government of Aurora documents show the Petitioner, Calvary Church, is requesting a plan description revision to the conditional use planned development on the property at 9S200 State Route 59, to allow for changes to the approved zoning standards for permanent ground signage.
The Property is zoned O(C), Office with a Conditional Use Planned Development and B-2(C), Business District – General Retail with a Conditional Use Planned Development. This is the site of the Calvary Church, which is approximately 74 acres. The existing Plan Description was approved as O02-113 on October 22, 2002. The existing Plan Description also includes the approximately 36 acres that is planned as the Chelsea Manor townhome subdivision.
The Petitioner, Calvary Church, is requesting a Plan Description Revision to the Conditional Use Planned Development on the property at 9S200 State Route 59. The details of the request include changes to the Plan Description’s signage standards for Parcel A, to allow for the construction of two new monument signs. Parcel A consists of approximately 2,181 linear feet on the northern portion of the Route 59 frontage, and approximately 860 linear feet on the western portion of the Montgomery Road frontage.
The Plan Description Revision allows for a single monument sign on the Route 59 frontage of Parcel A, with a maximum signage area of 210 square feet, a maximum height of 12 feet and five inches, a masonry base, and a cap. The Plan Description Revision also allows for a single monument sign on the Montgomery Road frontage of Parcel A, with a maximum signage area of 98 square feet, and a maximum height of seven feet, nine inches, a masonry base, and a cap.
Sign 1 also includes a digital message board, which is in compliance with the applicable sign code requirements per the Chapter 41-15 of the Code of Ordinances.
As part of this approval process, the Petitioner has also agreed to remove all non-conforming temporary signs from the Property.
City staff members have reviewed the conditional use planned development 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 member recommendation below.
Public notice was given for the public hearing on this matter.
Findings of fact:
1) Will the establishment, maintenance or operation of the conditional use be unreasonably detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort, or general welfare?
Staff members do not believe the establishment, maintenance of the proposal to be unreasonably detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare.
2) Will the conditional use be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted or substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood; factors including but not limited to lighting, signage and outdoor amplification, hours of operation, refuse disposal areas and architectural compatibility and building operation?
Staff members do not believe the proposal to be injurious to the use and enjoyment of the other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted or substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood. Staff members believe the new signage will improve the Church’s outreach efforts by removing the non-conforming temporary signage from the Property.
3) Will the establishment of the conditional use impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding property for uses permitted in the district?
Staff members do not believe that the establishment of the conditional use impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of surrounding property for uses permitted in the district.
4) Will the proposal provide for adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and/or other necessary facilities as part of the conditional use?
Staff members do not feel that the proposal will have any impact on the existing adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and/or other necessary facilities.
5) Does the proposal take adequate measures, or will they be taken to provide ingress and egress so designed to minimize traffic congestion in the public streets?
Staff members do not feel the proposal will have any impact on traffic congestion in the public streets.
6) Does the conditional use in all other respects conform to the applicable regulations of the district in which it is located, except as such regulations may in each instance be modified by the city council pursuant to the recommendations of the commission?
Staff members believe the proposal does, in all other respects, conform to the applicable regulations of the district in which it is located.
Policies and guidelines:
The staff members’ evaluation and recommendation are based on the following physical development policies:
14.1 (4): To encourage quality site design throughout the City of Aurora.
14.1 (5): To provide for the visual enhancement of the City through attractive landscaping, quality signage and diverse building design and arrangement.
93.1 (2): To work toward improved signage and street furniture.
Recommendations:
The Planning and Zoning commission recommended conditional approval of the Ordinance Approving a Revision to the Calvary Temple Church Plan Description on 107.3 acres for property at 9S200 State Route 59, with the following conditions:
1) That all non-conforming temporary ground signs be permanently removed from the Property.
• Approved was a Resolution to award a contract for a five-year IT Service Management (ITSM) software to Ivanti, of Salt Lake City, UT, for $391,893.39.
City government of Aurora documents show the City IT Department manages more than 1,200 computing devices, much of which is done manually and in an irregular fashion. This leads to critical software update patches being missed, irregular incident response and inefficient management of the lifecycle of the computing device. The IT staff members desire to implement ITSM software to improve service strategy, service design, change management, operations and continual service improvement.
The IT staff members utilize a rudimentary helpdesk ticketing system that is not capable of tracking computing devices (assets). Consequently, IT staff members keep track of devices manually which leads to inconsistent tracking of asset characteristics and phase within the system lifecycle.
The helpdesk ticketing system is also not capable of reporting on service level agreements – either for external vendors or internal IT staff members. IT management desires to hold both vendors and staff members accountable to agreed service levels and report on the effectiveness of IT staff members.
Lastly, remote access to computers for software repairs / configuration is done in an inefficient method. A robust ITSM tool combined with a solid Remote Desktop Solution will solve this problem and thereby reduce the number of trips City staff members need to make to IT for changes.
The city engaged Marketplace.city to find a IT Service Management (ITSM) software provider.
Process Overview:
— Reviewed Market Landscape with 30+ Companies
— Created Opportunity and Scope Document based on needs described by IT
— Posted Opportunity on Marketplace and Aurora’s government website 10/25/21 with responses due 11/12/21. (22-78)
— Publicly posted and distributed the Opportunity for vendors to complete in order to be included in the reporting and selection process
— 20 companies responded by Deadline
— Team developed Initial Filter Criteria to bring universe of 20 vendors down to a qualified 6 for deeper review
— Within the 6 qualified vendors, only 4 distinct products were offered (2 vendors offered BMC Helix, and 2 offered Cherwell)
— Met with 4 of these 6 to review all available products
— Dell Marketing, Freshworks, Ivanti, SDI Presence
— Drafted the Request for Proposal (RFP) with IT Stakeholders
— Sent the RFP to the 4 finalists
— Opened 4/1/22 and closed 4/18/22
— Received 3 vendor responses
IT Staff members selected Ivanti for the ITSM solution as was the leader across all scoring categories and individual scoring submissions, providing the consensus choice.
IT Staff members will engage Ivanti in 2022 for initial discovery and planning stages with the implementation to begin in earnest in 2023 Q1.
A 2023 Decision Package was approved with funds available in 101-1280-419.38-11 – Computer Software – for this purchase.
Tools utilized by IT staff members to manage the growing fleet of computing devices is neither flexible nor sustainable. Continued inefficiencies caused by poor device management increases costs and puts the City government at risk of a security incident.
• Approved was a Resolution authorizing a SharePoint migration agreement with Burwood Group, Inc., Chicago, for a total amount not to exceed $307,800.
City government of Aurora documents show the City is seeking to replace its outdated on-premises SharePoint platforms that are losing maintenance support in summer 2022. The City’s goal is to find a partner to perform an assessment of its data environment and then migrate relevant data to SharePoint Online.
Resolution R22-234, in the amount of $25,000.00, authorized the selection of Burwood Group (“Burwood”) to perform an assessment of the City’s SharePoint environments, recommend a migration plan and provide an estimate for completion the migration. For R22-234, Burwood was selected via the Marketplace.city process based upon their experience and examples of quality work.
Burwood completed a thorough evaluation of the current SharePoint environments which included interviews with key members of every City department. This evaluation allowed Burwood to understand how SharePoint was being utilized throughout the City and make recommendations for migrating data to the Microsoft SharePoint Online environment and replicating functionality utilized by City staff members.
As Burwood executed the evaluation thoroughly and to staff members’ satisfaction, they believe Burwood is very capable of replicating existing functionality and applications as well as migrating data to the SharePoint online environment. Included in this migration will be applications such as the Budgeting applications that are used annually city-wide.
Burwood has recommended the purchase of two software products to assist them in the migration and to be left behind for City staff members to utilize going forward. The first product, AvePoint will allow for efficient, automated transfer of files to SharePoint online. The second product, Nintex will allow City staff members to automate document workflows and other process management.
The engagement with Burwood is expected to last 20-24 weeks and will be divided into four phases:
— Phase 1: Architecture design, strategy and training material.
— Phase 2: APD Teams and Exchange environment remediation to ensure Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliance.
— Phase 3: Buildout the SharePoint online environment
— Phase 4: Data migration, staff member training, knowledge transfer and project wrap up.
Costs of the two software products and Burwood professional services are shown below:
— AvePoint $ 17,800
— Nintex $ 25,000
— Professional Services $265,000
— Total $307,800
A budget transfer will be required for these services to 101-1280-419.32-80
Presently City of Aurora file shares reside on SharePoint On-Premises and this platform will not have Microsoft support moving forward causing a risk of security exposure.
• Approved was a Resolution establishing a yearly fee for Liquor License Endorsements and maximum violation fees for licensees related to Chapter 6, “Alcoholic Liquor” of the Code of Ordinances.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to assess an appropriate fee for the optional Liquor License Endorsements available to liquor licensees as well as maximum fees that may be assessed when a violation of the liquor code is committed.
On April 14, 2020, revisions were made to Chapter 6, “Alcoholic Liquor”, including the addition of endorsements available to licensees. An endorsement is an option available as an “add on” to a current liquor license that adds to the licensee’s ability to sell or serve alcohol (i.e., strolling, catering, BYOB, package sales). The endorsement option was enacted during the COVID pandemic and no additional fees were initially assessed for endorsements.
The maximum fee for a violation of the liquor code has been set at $2,000.00 since a fee range was added to the fee schedule in 2018. A maximum violation fee should be set high enough to serve as a deterrent and should be high enough to be punitive, when necessary.
Now that fee-free endorsements have been available for two renewal cycles, City government officials have determined an appropriate fee based on several factors. First, research looking for similar endorsement fees used by other municipalities showed that the endorsement concept is not frequently used, with one other area municipality utilizing a somewhat similar (although not identical) endorsement model, the city of Park Ridge. Park Ridge’s endorsement fees range from $250.00 to $1,500.00 with those endorsements most similar to Aurora’s costing $250.00. Second, staff members’ time is expended in the application processing, review and issuance of endorsements and now that City government officials have issued several endorsements, they have a general idea of the time involved in this process. Third, over the last two years, significant savings has been passed along to some businesses that were eligible for an endorsement to their liquor license, instead of a second liquor license. Effectively, some businesses that were previously required to purchase two separate licensees now only have to purchase one license and an endorsement. This cost savings to businesses was an intended consequence of the implementation of the endorsement format. Finally, while a nominal fee of $250.00 is proposed for each endorsement, businesses benefit from endorsements as they expand the ability of the licensees to generate sales and revenue. Based on these factors, staff members feel it is appropriate to assess a nominal yearly fee of $250.00 per endorsement. Liquor license fees were last updated on January 25, 2022 pursuant to R22-016, however, endorsement fees were “reserved until 2023-2024 renewal year.” The fee schedule now needs to be updated to add the endorsement fee.
City staff members feel it is appropriate that the maximum fees for a violation of the liquor code be increased from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00 per violation to deter future behavior and serve a punitive function when needed.
This change will amend the existing fee schedule to assess a $250.00 yearly fee for each endorsement and to increase the maximum fees for a violation of the liquor code to $5,000.00 per violation.
• Approved was a Resolution authorizing the execution of an Engineering Agreement with Alfred Benesch & Company in the not to exceed amount of $226,616.00, and the appropriation of $226,616.00 of MFT Funds for the 2023-2024 Bridge Inspections.
City government of Aurora documents show this is a Resolution to approve the above referenced Engineering Services Agreement and to appropriate Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds as required by the Illinois Highway Code.
The City inspects and maintains 33 bridges on the local street network. To ensure public safety, the City of Aurora’s bridges are inspected according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS). The inspection data is used by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to allocate funding for bridge projects. The Engineering Department reviews the reports to monitor bridge conditions and plan for major repairs.
The City published a Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) for the 2023-2024 Bridge Inspections services on September 19, 2022. Five firms submitted their qualifications and experiences. City officials reviewed the qualifications and determined that Alfred Benesch & Company (Benesch) was the most qualified with the top 3 firm’s scores. Benesch has completed the bridge inspections for the City since 2015 under previous agreements. They have also been involved in other bridge projects throughout the City including Phase 1 and 2 Engineering on two bridge replacements along Farnsworth Avenue and Phase 1 Engineering on the New York Street over Fox River Bridge.
This followed the Request for Qualifications process and is not subject to the local preference policy. The funding source, MFT Funds, is not subject to the local preference policy.
This Engineering Agreement will provide for the required inspections of the City’s bridges over the next two years from 2023 through 2024. IDOT assigns each bridge a mandatory recurring inspection period, with the bridges in the current inventory being inspected every two years or four years. The provisions of the QBS indicated that if mutually agreeable between the consultant and City, this agreement may be extended up to two times, each in two year increments for a total maximum agreement length of six years. If the City continues to use Benesch for bridge inspection services, another agreement will be presented in two years.
The total cost of the agreement is in an amount not to exceed $226,616.00. This total cost includes approximately $25,000.00 each year in on-call engineering costs. The 2023 City Budget provides $180,000.00 for this item in Account 203-4060-431.32-26 (Motor Fuel Tax Fund). As this is a multi-year agreement, additional funds will be budgeted in 2024 for the remainder of the cost.
IDOT requires a Resolution to appropriate the MFT funds prior to their expenditure for approved projects.
• Approved was a Resolution establishing the maximum number of licenses for tattoo and body art establishments in the City of Aurora in accordance with Chapter 25, Article XI “Tattoo and Body Art Establishments”.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to update the number of available licenses for tattoo and body art establishments.
In conjunction with the changes recently approved by the City Council to Chapter 25, Article XI “Tattoo and Body Art Establishments”, this resolution seeks to increase the number of available licenses from two to four.
This change will allow each of the existing tattoo and body art establishments operating in Aurora to have a valid license.
City documents declare approval of this resolution will have a positive impact on the four existing tattoo and body art establishments.
• Approved was a Resolution establishing the maximum number of Class B: Onsite Consumption liquor licenses (unofficially related to the application from Telugu Ruchulu of Aurora LLC, d/b/a Nawabi Hyderabad House at 4448 E. New York Street, Aurora) – Ward 10.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to increase the number of Class B: Onsite Consumption liquor licenses. Telugu Ruchulu of Aurora LLC, d/b/a Nawabi Hyderabad House, is operating at 4448 E. New York Street and has submitted a liquor license application. Nawabi Hyderabad House hopes to offer alcohol options in addition to their full restaurant menu.
This request is presented in accordance with the 2011 amendment to the City’s Liquor Ordinance, specifically Section 6-9(a), which charges the City Council with the authority to determine the number of licenses available in each classification.
Telugu Ruchulu of Aurora LLC, d/b/a Nawabi Hyderabad House, has submitted a liquor license application to offer alcohol for sale for on-site consumption in their restaurant. If approved, this liquor license will allow the sale of alcohol during business hours.
If approved, this resolution will increase the number of allowable liquor licenses to allow for the issuance of the license by the liquor commissioner. City officials have been working with the business owner to ensure that all requirements for a liquor license, as set forth in Chapter 6 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, are met.
• Approved was a Resolution establishing the maximum number of Class C: Specialty On-Site Consumption liquor licenses (unofficially related to the application from Fox Valley Park District d/b/a Orchard Valley Golf Course at 2411 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora). [Ward 5]
City government of Aurora documents show this request is presented in accordance with the 2011 amendment to the City’s Liquor Ordinance, specifically Section 6-9(a), which charges the City Council with the authority to determine the number of licenses available in each classification.
Fox Valley Park District d/b/a Orchard Valley Golf Course, is a golf course with a restaurant and lounge/bar. A liquor license application has been submitted requesting a license to offer alcohol for sale for on-site consumption in the full-service restaurant, bar and on the golf course. The liquor license at this location was previously issued to another business with the property owned by the Fox Valley Park District. Fox Valley Park District will now be taking over the operations and licensing.
If approved, this resolution will maintain the number of allowable liquor licenses to allow for the issuance of the license by the liquor commissioner. City officials have been working with the business owner to ensure that all requirements for a liquor license, as set forth in Chapter 6 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, are met.
• Approved was a Resolution establishing the maximum number of Class B: On-Site Consumption liquor licenses (unofficially related to the application from Black Pepper Lounge, LLC d/b/a Black Pepper Lounge at 1515 Butterfield Rd., Unit #119, Aurora). [Ward 1]
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to increase the number of Class B: On-Site Consumption liquor licenses. A business that is new to Aurora, Black Pepper Lounge, LLC d/b/a Black Pepper Lounge, is opening a restaurant at 1515 Butterfield Rd., Unit #119, Aurora and has submitted a liquor license application.
This request is presented in accordance with the 2011 amendment to the City’s Liquor Ordinance, specifically Section 6-9(a), which charges the City Council with the authority to determine the number of licenses available in each classification.
Black Pepper Lounge, LLC d/b/a Black Pepper Lounge has submitted a liquor license application to offer alcohol for sale for on-site consumption in a full-service restaurant. If approved, this liquor license will allow the sale of alcohol during business hours. Black Pepper Lounge will offer a full menu.
If approved, this resolution will increase the number of allowable liquor licenses to allow for the issuance of the license by the Liquor Commissioner. City officials have been working with the business owner to ensure that all requirements for a liquor license, as set forth in Chapter 6 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, are met.
• Approved was a Resolution establishing the maximum number of Class A: Packaged Sales liquor licenses (unofficially related to the application from Sunshine Pantry, LLC, d/b/a Sunshine Pantry at 2958 Ogden Ave., Aurora) – Ward 8.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to increase the number of Class A: Package Sales liquor licenses. Sunshine Pantry, LLC d/b/a Sunshine Pantry, is purchasing the existing Sunshine Pantry at 2958 Ogden Avenue. This will be a 100% ownership change of this liquor store. Sunshine Pantry, LLC has submitted a liquor license application.
This request is presented in accordance with the 2011 amendment to the City’s Liquor Ordinance, specifically Section 6-9(a), which charges the City Council with the authority to determine the number of licenses available in each classification.
Sunshine Pantry, LLC, d/b/a Sunshine Pantry, has submitted a liquor license application to offer packaged alcohol for sale for off-site consumption.
If approved, this resolution will maintain the number of allowable liquor licenses as this is a change in ownership of a licensed business. This will allow for the issuance of a liquor license by the liquor commissioner. City officials have been working with the business owner to ensure that all requirements for a liquor license, as set forth in Chapter 6 of the City’s Code of Ordinances, are met.
• Approved was a Resolution to award a contract for a three-year managed phone service partnership to Sentinel, of Downers Grove, for $307,102.96.
City government of Aurora documents show the City IT Department manages nearly 1,000 land-line telephony devices and lines for City staff members. The City telephone network has become quite complex and is not running on the current technologies which leads to inefficiencies for staff members and additional costs. This managed phone service partnership (MPSP) will reduce infrastructure and equipment costs while allowing employees to stay connected with both internal and external stakeholders and across any device and any location they utilize the service.
Following the City government’s move to a managed service in other areas (Managed Security Services, Managed Infrastructure), the City government sought to partner with an expert provider that could provide support, maintenance and eventually replacement and management of hardware and/or other service contracts.
The current Cisco-based system is not current and is therefore unable to utilize more cost-effective and efficient voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) solutions and does not integrate with City staff members’ computing devices (laptop/pc, cell phones). The City does utilize VOIP protocols for internal calls, but all inbound and outbound calls still traverse the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN).
In addition to being less costly, full VOIP solutions allow for connecting with an employee regardless of whether they are on a cell phone, on their computer or at their desk.
City officials engaged Marketplace.city to find a MSPS.
Process Overview:
— Marketplace.city created Market Landscape with 8 Companies
— Project team reviewed Market Landscape, drafted scope and opportunity document with stakeholders
— Publicly posted and distributed the Opportunity for vendors to complete to be included in the reporting and selection process (22-07)
— Opened 1/18/22 and closed 2/2/22
— 14 companies responded by Deadline
— Four submissions were for the RingCentral product.
— Mindsight was brought forward from the list of those four due to previous successful project history with Mindsight.
— Based upon the quality of responses, six vendors were chosen for demonstrations.
— Those disqualified at this stage did not propose a method to systematically upgrade and migrate phone numbers from the current Cisco environment to a VOIP solution; instead, they proposed a more costly and immediate full-replacement with a competing VOIP solution.
— This qualified list contained 6 vendors. [AIS Labs, AT&T, Mindsight, Sentinel, SKC, Trifecta]
— Demonstrations with those six began on Feb 21.
— After these demonstrations, the project team invited 3 finalists to submit a response to the RFP [AT&T, Mindsight, and Sentinel]
Drafted the Request for Proposal (RFP) with IT Stakeholders
— Sent the RFP to the 3 finalists
— Opened 3/28/22 and closed 4/11/22
— All 3 vendors responded
The project team scored the final proposals and selected the recommended vendor, Sentinel. This was based primarily on Sentinel’s vendor agnostic proposal, significant expertise in performing large-scale Cisco migrations, past performance supporting City IT staff members and wide experience managing phone systems for their clients.
City government officials believe Sentinel’s approach to maintain the current Cisco system while providing a deliberate, planned upgrade path to a full VOIP platform is the most efficient and cost-effective of all solutions provided to the City.
• Approved was a Resolution to adopt unit prices provided by two respondents for 2023 Electrical Supplies for the Electrical Division.
City government of Aurora documents show the City recently published an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for annual pricing of Electrical Division Supplies. The intent of this is to freeze commonly fluctuating unit prices. The previous pricing expired on December 31, 2022 and this year’s invitation will establish unit prices for 2023 (with options to renew in 2024 and 2025) for materials and supplies used by the Electrical Division during routine and ongoing maintenance of City infrastructure.
The ITB for 2023 Electrical Supplies was advertised in the newspaper and sent directly to several suppliers. Unit prices were received from two respondents. The unit prices recommended for acceptance provided the lowest price for specific items highlighted in yellow. The lowest price per item will be used unless delivery time becomes an issue, at which point the item would be purchased from the respondent with the next lowest price and necessary availability for that item.
By accepting prices from multiple respondents and establishing open purchase orders as necessary, the Electrical Division is able to readily pick up materials as needed rather than waiting to obtain individual quotes and a separate purchase order each time something is needed.
This bid was subject to local preference but it was not a factor as neither respondent was local.
Funding for materials, supplies, and LED light fixtures is budgeted in Supplies-Repairs/Maintenance/Street Lighting accounts 340-4020-418.65-07, 235-4020-418.65-07, 236-4020-418.65-07, and may be supplemented with other accounts to be determined.
This contract should minimize the turnaround time for our Electrical Division to respond to issues and return City-owned lighting and electrical infrastructure to a safe and operable condition.
• Approved was a Resolution to adopt unit prices submitted by Utility Dynamics Corporation, 23 Commerce Drive, Oswego, Ill., for 2023 Electrical Services.
City government of Aurora documents show the City recently published an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for annual pricing of Services required to support the City’s Electrical Division. The intent of this is to freeze commonly fluctuating unit prices. The previous pricing expired on December 31, 2022 and this year’s invitation will establish unit prices for 2023 (with options to renew in 2024 and 2025) for services required to support the Electrical Division during routine and ongoing maintenance of City infrastructure.
The ITB for 2023 Electrical Services was advertised in a newspaper and sent directly to several contractors. Two responses were received and Utility Dynamics Corporation provided the lowest unit prices.
This bid was subject to Local Preference but it was not a factor as neither respondent was local.
Funding for Electrical Services is budgeted in Supplies-Repairs/Maintenance/Street Lighting accounts 340-4020-418.65-07, 235-4020-418.65-07, 236-4020-418.65-07, and may be supplemented with other accounts to be determined.
This contract should allow the City’s Electrical Division to respond to issues in a timely manner and return City-owned lighting and electrical infrastructure to a safe and operable condition.
• Approved was an Ordinance amending Chapter 41.5 of the Code of Ordinances pertaining to special events.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to further refine the City’s policies and procedures for reviewing and approving special events.
Until 2018, the Code of Ordinances provided very little guidance to City officials with respect to the review or approval of special events, including parades and other festivals. While the code provided that the former Government Operations Committee was empowered to issue permits, it did not set forth any criteria for the committee to use to evaluate requests.
In early 2018, the City Council added Chapter 41.5 to the Code of Ordinances. The new chapter provided policies and procedures for the special events office to follow when evaluating permit applications, classified events into multiple tiers, and provided for cost recovery procedures. It also shifted the authority to issue permits to the special events coordinator, establishing an administrative approval process in place of the former legislative process.
Following a special events “hiatus” resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic, it became apparent that further adjustments to the ordinance were necessary in order to properly define what party (the City or a permittee) were responsible for what costs for special events. While the City recognizes its obligation to protect First Amendment speech, the obligation does not require the City to shoulder all of the costs of a special event – particularly when the size and scope of a special event create costs that exceed what the Constitution requires the public to bear.
Because the document with many sentences marked with redlines includes numerous provisions Chapter 41.5, it may appear to the reader that substantial revisions to the Ordinance have been proposed. This is not the case — many of the proposed changes are stylistic (to mirror other provisions of the Code), remove redundant language, or use more specific terms when identifying individuals.
Substantively, the proposed amendment creates a new tier of events known as the “Tier 6.” A Tier 6 special event is either a procession along a City sidewalk or a stationary assembly upon City property. Though it may be issued upon application to any entity, the Tier 6 permit is specifically designed to facilitate core First Amendment activity that requires only limited City resources – the cost of which are to be substantially borne by the City. In this regard, a Tier 6 event is substantially less burdensome to an organizer that cannot afford a more elaborate special event which necessarily would require a greater amount of City resources for which the organizer would be responsible for bearing the costs of. Prior to denying or revoking a special event permit for a special event of any other tier, the special event coordinator must offer the organizer a permit for a Tier 6 event as an alternative.
The proposed ordinance also discusses the options available both to an organizer and the coordinator when it becomes apparent that the organizer will not be able to hire enough staff members or other volunteers to manage a permitted special event. The organizer is required to notify the coordinator as soon as possible of the potential shortage in order to determine how to mitigate the problem, and the coordinator is required to make best efforts to assist. The coordinator is specifically empowered to reduce the scope of a special event or offer the permittee a Tier 6 permit in lieu of the permit previously issued.
Finally, the proposed revisions flesh out key aspects of the coordinator’s decision-making process by supplying further criteria.
The proposed amendments should not substantially impact the day-to-day activities of the Special Events Division, however they do provide the coordinator and applicants with an additional option (short of denial or cancellation) to facilitate the exercise of an applicant’s First Amendment rights in a simplified setting and afford greater procedural safeguards for all involved.