By Jason Crane
Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin and members of the Aurora City Council honored president of Waubonsee Community College, Dr. Christine Sobek at the Aurora City Council Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Mayor Irvin gave Dr. Sobek a key to the City and proclaimed January 4 as Dr. Christine Sobek day in Aurora as she prepares to retire from Waubonsee Community College after 33 years.
Dr. Sobek became the fourth president of Waubonsee Community College July 1, 2001, and over the past 21.5 years, the College has served 177,724 students earning 2,547,986.5 credit hours.
Through her vision and leadership, the College has grown in stature locally and regionally across a network of four permanent campuses in the 624-square-mile college district. Two of those campuses were built during Sobek’s presidency: Plano in 2010 and downtown Aurora in 2011, and so were five new buildings on the main campus. She led the complete overhaul and renovation of Aurora’s Fox Valley Campus in 2016.
She retires from Waubonsee, and as vice-chairperson of the Aurora Education Commission, a position she has held since its inception in 2018.
The City Council gave consent to the following agenda items likely to be placed on the full City Council agenda Tuesday, Jan. 10:
• Consent was given to a Resolution approving the appointment of Craig Gunty and reappointment of Ramona Wood to the Civil Service Commission.
New candidate Craig Gunty is a Ward 9 resident and a retired Sergeant from the Bolingbrook Police Department.
Veteran candidate Ramona Wood is a Ward 6 resident, serving a sixth term, if approved.
• Consent was given to an Ordinance amending “Chapter 25, Article XI” of the Code of Ordinances.
The purpose is to update the license requirements for tattoo and body art establishments
City government of Aurora documents show over the last year the City Council has made small revisions to the Tattoo Shop Ordinance to allow for microblading and microshading businesses within Aurora. In committee discussions of those revisions, the aldermen have requested that the City look into revising the entire tattoo ordinance.
Aurora government staff members have spent time meeting with Aurora tattoo shop owners to gather feedback regarding the current ordinance. Staff members have taken into consideration their comments, as well as the input from prior Rules and Administrative Procedure committee meetings in drafting this revised ordinance.
This amendment to the ordinance will update the requirements for tattoo shop licensing. It will eliminate outdated language and unnecessary requirements, while promoting safe practices for the health and welfare of local tattoo shop patrons. ,
• Consent was given to an Ordinance amending Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances Pertaining to the City’s officers and departments.
The City Council has twice approved changes to Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances pertaining to city officers and departments, most recently in 2017 and 2021. The proposed amendment seeks to update the code to reflect departmental changes outlined in the recently approved 2023 budget.
The 2023 budget includes the creation of a new department, Public Facilities. This department will be comprised of existing divisions from both the departments of Development Services and Public Works. The changes, as outlined and presented during the 2023 budget process, are reflective of operational needs identified following the 2017 re-organization given the size and scope of duties for both Development Services and Public Works respectively.
Public Facilities (new department):
• Facilities Maintenance
o Central Services
o Airport o MVPS Maintenance
o Transit Center Rt. 25
o Transit Center Rt. 59
• Animal Care and Control
• Fleet Maintenance
• Parks Maintenance
o Phillips Park Zoo
o Phillips Park Golf Maintenance
o Phillips Park Golf Operations
Approval of these changes will allow the city to operate in compliance with the city code.
• Final approval for items on the Committee of the Whole consent agenda are set to be made at the January 10 Aurora City Council meeting.