By Jason Crane
At the Aurora city government City Council meeting Tuesday, mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin presented the Mayor’s Award of Latin-Xcellence to the following individuals for their leadership in Aurora: Gil Rios, Mariana Martinez, and Casildo (Casey) Cuevas.
Rios, owner of G R Enterprises is a head coach of baseball teams in Aurora Boys Baseball and Pony League. He is a founder of the annual Polar Bear Golf Outing, raising scholarship funds for students in the Aurora area. Rios started Cub Scouts Pack 334 and is a member of the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board.
Martinez is the Community Health Outreach coordinator for Rush-Copley Medical Center. As a liaison to community partners and residents, she works to connect residents to health care and assist with building community relationships.
Martinez has received the Rush-Copley Employee of the Month Award and is a Board member of Compañeros en Salud Partners in Health, and past Board member of ALAS-WINGS Latina Association for Breast Cancer.
Cuevas is chairman of immigration at the Chicago Metro Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and coordinator of the Aurora Rapid Response Team where the mission is to educate, advocate, and investigate on behalf of immigrant and refuge neighbors in the Aurora area.
Cuevas is the former chairman of Fiestas Patrias and former vice chairman of the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board.
Mayor Irvin honored members of The Aurora Latin American Club, one of Aurora’s oldest Latin-owned businesses.
Founded in 1959 as a social club for individuals of Latin descent, the non-profit organization sponsors many benefits and fundraisers to assist many in the Aurora area.
Lisa Garcia, A.K.A. Spark plug, was honored by the Aurora Hispanic Advisory Board with the Delia Nila Basile Award for a decade of volunteerism in fundraisers and parades for many organizations in Aurora.
The Award honors an Aurora Community individual, organization, or business that demonstrates exemplary leadership with selfless acts of time and dedication to advance, promote, and enhance the impact of the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board.
• There were five individuals using their voices for up to three minutes.
The first three speakers were representatives of the non-profit Alive Center. They are: Ady Rubio, Gabriel Bradford, and CEO Kandice Henning.
The Alive Center was started in Naperville six years ago as a teen center.
In Aurora, there are teen programs at Community Christian Church, 78 S. LaSalle Street.
One of the requests from the organization was help to find transportation for youth from schools to the Alive programs.
Information was shared about a Saturday, Oct. 30 fundraiser for Alive Center which is a pet parade and costume contest. More information can be found at the Facebook page for Alive Center.
• The fourth speaker was former alderman of Aurora’s Fourth Ward, Rick Lawrence. He expressed concern about the proposed public housing complex to be developed on the same land where the recently-demolished Jericho Circle complex was. The proposed public housing complex would be operated by Aurora Housing Authority (AHA).
Lawrence said, “When I first got elected in 2005, one of the first missions I took on for myself, the police, the residents of Jericho Circle, the School District, 129, was to help the residents there and solve [their issues].
“What we found there was a disgusting facility that was ignored for decades. The people that ran it treated the people like animals.”
Lawrence added they tried many things to help, but realized the only way to help the people was to have the place demolished.
“At that time, the mayor, Tom Weisner and a couple of his friends wanted to rebuild the place, but (Housing and Urban Development) HUD was on our side,” said Lawrence.
“HUD unequivocally came to the City and told the mayor and the Board of the AHA that the property was not conducive for any type of housing.
“It’s on the far south end of the City, isolated.”
Lawrence added, “The police, the fire, it’s desolate out there, there’s no services. There’s limited transportation. There’s no stores, no access to anything out there. That’s why it happened.
“AHA has proved themselves incompetent. Still today, you can go to Centennial House, which started as a senior center, it’s a mess!
“You talk to the police about how many calls are there every day. They have one manager for three facilities, currently. Centennial House is a huge place and needs its own (manager).
“Now here we are, we have an alderman pushing it, we have the mayor pushing it, to rebuild Jericho Circle, once again!
“We have an alderman that says, ‘we need more housing so that we can get places in West Plaza or we can get more stuff on Orchard (Road).’
“We have a mayor saying to people that he knows how to do it better.
“It doesn’t matter what it is today, we can spin it, we can say it’s going to be for veterans, we can say it’s going to be for seniors.
“It’ll be under the guise of the AHA property and it will devolve into every other property that they have controlled.
“In 20 years from now, the City Council will be sitting up there and saying ‘who the hell approved this again?’
“We solved that problem after 30 years of neglect.
“Places like the AHA, it’s in its nature. The bureaucratic system like that will always end this way!
“It always comes down to who gets the contracts? Because it’s not about economics because there’s no tax revenue that’ll come from the property. They don’t pay property taxes.
“It’s not about a good place to live, it’s about who gets the contract!” Lawrence insisted.
• The fifth speaker was Aurora resident Sandi Schmitt who said, “I moved here in 2005 because I wanted to have a city that was more diverse, lots of culture, and I think I found that in Aurora.
“A few years ago, I happened to meet my friend Casey (Cuevas). I didn’t know it at the time but I had this urge to get involved and learn more about the community.
“Meeting Casey, he had a couple of projects, he had this homeless thing, he and Anna invited me into their home. We put together care packs for homeless people,
“I started to realize that there are a lot of things in Aurora that need to be fixed but there are a lot of great things in Aurora.”
She closed by giving credit to Casey for giving her a passion to make a positive change which makes her glad to live in Aurora.
The City Council unanimously approved the following agenda items:
• Approved was a resolution approving the appointments of Blanca Rodriguez from Ward 2 and Minal Shah from Ward 10 as members to the Block Grant Working Committee.
City government of Aurora documents show every five years, the City of Aurora develops a long-term strategic plan called the Consolidated Plan, which must be submitted annually to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order to receive federal funds.
• Approved was a resolution approving the appointment of Ansar Kazmi a Ward 9 resident to the City’s Veterans Advisory Council.
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 an ordinance amending various provisions of the Code of Ordinances, City of Aurora, pertaining to the unlawful sale, possession, and use of fireworks.
City government of Aurora documents show the purpose is to consolidate, clarify, and revise, the City Code’s prohibitions on the unlawful sale, possession, or use of fireworks.
Following a significant increase in the number of fireworks-related complaints received by the City government in Summer 2021, the mayor requested staff members in his office and in the Law Department to review the City Code’s provisions pertaining to fireworks and, if appropriate, to propose revisions for consideration by the City Council.
The City Code contains general prohibitions on the unlawful use of fireworks in Section 17-109.1 (Fire Protection and Prevention) and in Section 29-30 (“Police Enforcement of Fireworks”). The prohibitions in Section 17-109.1 are found in the Section 12-17.8 of the Fire Code. Further, Section 30-23.5 expressly prohibits the use of fireworks in parks maintained by the City.
Additionally, given that the most frequent complaint associated with the use of fireworks involves the noise they produce, Article 29-VIII (“Noise Abatement”) provides a more generalized avenue of enforcement.
A person who unlawfully uses or possess fireworks is subject to a fine only under the City Code under one of more of these provisions. Noise violations begin at $250 per offense as do violations of Sec. 29-30 and escalate based on subsequent violations. Other local fireworks offenses are punishable by fines between $50 and $500, as determined by the court. As is the case with all violations of Chapter 29, the City may declare real property where a fireworks violation repeatedly occurs as a public nuisance in accordance with Article 29-VII.
In summary, the existing City Code provisions pertaining specifically to fireworks, or under which fireworks-related misconduct may be charged, expressly provide that the City may 1) prosecute fireworks offenders 2) impose appropriate fines for violations, 3) utilize nuisance abatement as a tool to prevent repeated violations, and 4) generally recover the costs associated with the collection of unpaid fines assessed for violations.
In addition to the above described provisions of City Code, the Pyrotechnic Use Act provides that a violation of any of its provisions, including those which generally prohibit the possession, sale, and use of fireworks, constitutes a Class A misdemeanor. Under Illinois law, Class A misdemeanors are punishable by fines up to $2,500 and not more than 364 days in jail.
While State law and the City Code presently provide various mechanisms of enforcing fireworks violations, our own ordinances are somewhat dated and do not take full advantage City’s home rule authority exercise all of its power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare.
To that end, City staff members recommend the following amendments to the City Code:
1.) An amendment to Section 17-109.1 providing for the express authority of the fire marshal to permit fireworks exhibitions consistent with the Pyrotechnic Use Act. While existing provisions of the code elude to this authority, an express grant of authority is appropriate in recognizing the role of the fire department in ensuring fire safety. Section 17-109.1’s prohibitions on the unlawful sale, use, or possession of fireworks are removed entirely.
2) An amendment to Sec. 29-30, presently titled “Police Enforcement of Fireworks” that replaces its existing provisions with similar prohibitions that may be enforced by any code enforcing officer of the City. When the Council adopted Sec. 29-30 in 2008, it apparently wished to resolve any doubt as to whether the police department had the authority to enforce local regulations on fireworks displays. Since at least 1946, the City’s prohibitions on the possession or use of fireworks were part of the code chapter pertaining to fire protection and prevention. For this reason, past enforcement of municipal fireworks regulations may have been understood to have been the responsibility of the fire department.
The proposed amendment provides that violations of Sec. 29-30 are punishable by fines between $250 and $1,000 and provides direction to the court or the administrative hearing officer to impose higher fines for repeat offenders, those who use particularly dangerous fireworks, and those who detonate fireworks between 10 PM and 8 AM. Additionally, the City may also cite the owner of the property where illegal firework use is occurring. Other additions to 29-30 include cost recovery for the City, broader authority to abate real property as a nuisance, and the ability to lien real property for violations. Existing language pertaining to the disposal of unlawful fireworks is modernized.
Sec. 29-205, which is part of what is informally known as the known as the “noise ordinance” is amended by adding an additional paragraph defining the unlawful use of fireworks as a per se violation. While it is obvious that fireworks make noise while exploding, specifically including those explosions as per se noise violations provides an additional means of enforcement.
The proposed revisions to the City Code should eliminate any uncertainty as to what role various City departments have in the enforcement of local ordinances pertaining to fireworks. They provide clear guidance as to what options are available to code enforcing employees and what documentation is necessary to successfully prosecute violations.
• Approved was a resolution authorizing a professional services agreement with Intergraph Corporation (“Hexagon”) of Madison, Alabama, for a computer-aided dispatch resident administrator (CAD RSA), in a contract amount not to exceed $179,928.00.
City government of Aurora documents show the City of Aurora IT Division is seeking assistance from Hexagon Safety and Infrastructure to support Infrastructure technical workload and projects as identified in the statement of work. Duties include but are not limited to:
Single technical point of contact for logging and resolving system issues
Creating custom reports for the CAD system
Work with the Customer’s systems administration staff to manage and work with the Hexagon systems as directed by the Customer.
Provide setup, configuration, database backups, database performance, and general Hexagon System administration duties.
Perform Hexagon CAD-MPS server setup and configuration.
Manage the CAD-MPS system security and access to the Hexagon System per Customer instructions and security plan.
Develop and maintain Hexagon System Support procedures as needed.
Perform the first level of diagnostics for failures, identifying hardware or software problems
Perform routine, daily operational tasks applicable to Hexagon System operations, such as purging system log files, checking database size, archiving data, the status of interfaces, and remote connections
Perform the scheduling and administration of the CAD-MPS server backups and recovery of data and configuration files per the Customer’s guidelines
Change, customize and manage user-configurable forms for the CAD-MPS software (where possible)
Monitor Hexagon System loading and efficient guide use of equipment and software
Monitor and adjust CAD database system parameters and Hexagon system operations for peak performance
Assist Customer training staff in the development of workflows, operating procedures to improve dispatcher efficiency or deploy new functionality
Install and administer operating system software on CAD-MPS servers related to the use of the Hexagon CAD-MPS system or utilities and service packs as purchased from Hexagon to maintain the system.
Administer CAD user accounts and passwords as directed by the Customer’s system administrator
Aid in installing Hexagon CAD application software upgrades (software supplied under separate Software Maintenance Agreements). Since CAD interface software upgrades can be a significant work effort on an active system, additional resources will be needed to handle the workload. Hexagon can provide quotes for these services as needed.
Train the Customer’s technical staff for backup Hexagon System Administration duties via hands-on, daily work apprenticeships
Document any system anomalies for inclusion into periodic site reports as requested
Conduct Operating System patch and Service Pack testing and deployment for CAD servers as well as provide support of Customer IT team efforts to certify patches and updates
Participate in CAD application update testing and deployment
System reliability monitoring
Complex issue troubleshooting and resolution
Support for Disaster Recovery testing
Manage Hexagon System problems with immediate communications to Hexagon headquarters and access to internal developers, systems engineers, and hardware professionals
Provide the interface to the Hexagon product development process to promote future software features to enhance site operations
Provide the interface with Hexagon second-level engineers and software Implementation Engineers to expedite on-site support and answer complex system questions or configuration issues.
One of the guiding principles of the IT Division evolution outlined in the Technology Strategic Plan is the “One IT” concept, which focuses on creating cooperative and collaborative IT service provision. A critical component of this model was maintaining service levels while seeking opportunities to enhance Public Safety Operations.
Over the past year, infrastructure has significantly matured and expanded its capacity. Unfortunately, due to turn-over and the uniqueness of the processes required to support Public Safety technology and business processes, the IT department will need backfill with a designated Hexagon resource.
The benefits include maintaining Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with our stakeholders while completing tasks on PMO projects without sacrificing quality or compromising timelines. These benefits align with city of Aurora government’s proactive strategy that supports City goals; strengthens communication and processes across stakeholders.
Hexagon originally quoted the CAD RSA at $250,000 annually. City IT staff was able to negotiate down to $179,928.00 which represents a 28% discount and equates to an hourly rate of $86.50.
A budget transfer will be submitted from 101-1380-419.10-01 (Salaries) to 101-1382-419.32-80 (consulting fees).
IT support for critical Public Safety process will be negatively impacted without the support of this specific resource.
Approve a professional services contract for a computer-aided dispatch resident administrator (CAD RSA) with Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure, 305 Telegraph Way, Madison, AL 35758 in the amount not to exceed $179,928.00.
• Approved was a resolution to approve the purchase of licenses and equipment to increase interoperability of Public Safety radios form L3Harris, Melbourne, FL in the amount of $108,124.63 with a $3,000 contingency.
The purpose of this resolution is to request updates to 38 radios and the APD’s Mobile Command Post to provide P25 communications capability to communicate with and dispatch officers from other agencies most effectively and ratify the initial purchase required in April.
City government of Aurora documents show since 2010, the City has maintained an L3Harris Public Safety and Municipal Radio System that supports Public Safety and other departments. This L3Harris System previously provided communications via a proprietary standard known as OpenSky. The need for Public Safety staff to communicate via radio with other communities continues to grow ever larger. The recent upgrade to this system — completed via approval in resolution R19-209 — put the City in a much better position to provide interoperability with other agencies via the open P25 standard.
Since many of the surrounding areas utilize radio systems based upon the newer P25 radio communications standard, city Public Safety staff need to be able to communicate via P25 when leaving Aurora and allow first responders from other agencies to communicate via P25 when within the Aurora boundary.
An initial purchase of P25 radio licenses was completed in April, 2021 for a cost of $24,565. Due to the success of this initial deployment, APD is requesting these 38 additional radio licenses at a cost of $48,794.58.
The remaining costs of this resolution will provide hardware updates to the APD Mobile Command Post, which will allow this vehicle to provide increased dispatching and communications capabilities, including P25 communications, during large inter-agency involved incidents.
The purchase of these licenses and equipment, although not budgeted for 2021, will be made using existing ETSB funds, a budget transfer will be submitted to account 211-1380-419.38-03.
Without this interoperability, communication and dispatch capabilities with other agencies will be severely limited, with significant impact to the effectiveness of the City first responders.
• Approved was a resolution authorizing the execution of a memorandum of agreement with the Illinois Search and Rescue Council, Inc.
City government of Aurora documents show the Illinois Search and Rescue Council (ISARC) is a professional volunteer organization within the State of Illinois that provides search and rescue (SAR) services for missing persons upon request. It is organized as an Illinois not-for-profit corporation and holds Sec. 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Its services are supported and performed by volunteers trained by ISARC. All ISARC volunteers are affiliated volunteers with governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations throughout the state, and successful SAR operations are dependent on entering into an agreement with ISARC.
This agreement has been updated from the previous agreement to include the ability of all SAR trained individuals to be considered a part of a Mobile Support Team. Previously, SAR personnel had the ability to travel within the State to requests, as needed, but when a state Emergency Management Assistance Compact was activated, SAR personnel were not allowed to be deployed as a Mobile Support Team.
This agreement will provide for the same level of service as provided in year’s past by existing SAR trained Aurora Emergency Management Volunteers, while providing for additional capabilities through ISARC when deployment’s outside of the State is necessary to supply aid to disaster-stricken areas.
This memorandum of agreement between ISARC and the City provides for volunteer and equipment mutual aid into the City for missing persons; the City can send trained volunteers and equipment to outside agencies within the State; the City can deploy trained volunteers and equipment to outside states when an Interstate Emergency Management Assistance Compact is requested and Mobile Support Teams are necessary to protect life and property.
This agreement would allow for Aurora Emergency Management SAR Volunteers and equipment to respond outside of Aurora if there was a need for assistance. It would also allow for volunteers and equipment to respond to emergencies within the City, including, but not limited to SAR vehicles, dogs, specialized equipment, and volunteers trained in ground, urban, and water rescue and recovery efforts.
A $50.00 annual fee is associated with this membership and agreement with ISARC, but the nominal cost of this fee provides for continual training and exercise opportunities for SAR Volunteers, and it covers the cost of the emergency call-out requests performed by ISARC; account number 10130384294501. Trainings performed this year include working with coroners regarding crime scene behavior and fatality management, water rescue teams learning basic water rescue skills, law enforcement agencies as cross-training between sworn and civilian personnel, and frequent trainings to remain up to date on lost human behavior, child behavior, and land navigation.
• Approved was a resolution accepting the dedication of an easement located at 921 North Russell Avenue, Poly USA, Inc..
The Engineering Department is requesting approval of the dedication of the Stormwater Control Easement at 921 North Russell Avenue. The easement is approximately 1.5 acres and is located within the open space and parking area to the north of the main building.