City Council - Regular Meeting

This meeting of the Aurora City Council for May 12th, 2026 is hereby called to order at 6:03 p.m. I'll ask the clerk to please call the role. Alderman Barrero. Alderwoman Garza here. Alderman Masakos, present. Alderman Nunes, here. Alderman Franco here. Alderman Seville here. Alderman Benedos here. Alderwoman Smith here. Alderman Bug here. Alderwoman Bade here. Alderman Larson here. Alderman White here. Mayor Lash is present. Is there a motion to approve the appointment of Sergeant-at-Arms for this meeting? Motion was made by Alderwoman Smith, second by Alderwoman Garza. All those in favor? I. Uh, any opposed?

Motion carries by voice vote. Uh, tonight I'll ask Alderman Masakos to lead us in the pledge of allegiance. United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And John, you want to take away with the mayor's report? We got a couple quite a bit of recognition tonight, so it'll take a little bit of time.

We do. Thank you so much, mayor. We do have another full slate of recognitions here tonight. We are going to start with honoring Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month here in the city of Aurora. Round of applause for our double NHPI community members. At this time, we're going to invite up members of the Aurora Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Advisory Board to accept the special proclamation for Mayor John Lash. We'll invite up members right now. You're allowed to come on up with the mayor. Your timing is perfect.

Okay. Good evening. Uh whereas the Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month observed each May is a celebration highlighting the diverse history and cultures of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders throughout the United States. And whereas the city of Aurora is proud to be the home to a thriving and growing AANHPI community with its members making significant contributions in business, education, law enforcement, healthcare, the arts, public service, and government, which continues to drive Aurora's progress and inspire future generation. Whereas Aurora is committed to recognizing the community service and civic participation efforts of our A&HPI community led by the Aurora Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Advisory Board as its members greatly contribute to the city's strength, diversity, and inclusivity. And whereas the city of Aurora encourages all of its residents to take the opportunity to better understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich history, culture, and shared experiences of the AA NHPI community members. Now therefore, I, Mayor John Lash do, hereby proclaim May 2026 as Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Month in the city of Aurora, Illinois, and encourage all residents to learn more about the numerous and long-standing contributions of Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders throughout the history of the United States. Everyone squeeze in. Perfect. Ready. One, two, three. Big smile.

Uh, thank you, Mayor Le, for this uh, tremendous honor. uh I believe this might be the first one for the Asian group. So uh we uh truly honor and we really receive this with great gratitude and we hope to continue our work throughout the rest of the years and years to come. So thank you very much. Thank you again to the members of the Aurora Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Advisory Board for being here tonight, representing. Well, another round of applause for you guys. Thank you for being here. Up next on our list tonight is a staff recognition for our very own senior planner, Alex Manila, who was recently nominated for the Climate Action Hero Award as part of the Climate Museum's annual award circuit. A round of applause for Alex Mella in the building. We have a special mayor's award of excellence for Alex coming for Mayor John Lash. Keep it short and sweet for Alex Manila in our planning department for being nominated for the climate action hero award as part of the climate action museum's annual ward circuit reflecting dedicated and impactful work to support a more sustainable future in the city of Aurora. Uh you make Mora proud and appreciate all of your hard work. uh even coming in a lot of times on the weekend to support the mission cause um outside of that work that you do in the planning department. Thank you so much. Give you the microphone for just a minute.

Just for a second if you Yep. Thank you very much.

Don't mind my my back. Uh, mayor, members of the council and staff, I want to sincerely thank uh, uh, Alderman Nunes, the council, my colleagues, and I tr it it truly means a lot to me. I want to be uh, very honest and uh, I wanted to thank my dear and close friends in different departments, uh, colleagues in different departments, colleagues have become friends. I'm very grateful for the nomination at this year's climate action uh year award. The recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects the kind of work I care deeply about. Work that is rooted in community and long-term impact. What a journey coming from midsize outside of Milan, Italy, uh to being recognized in the second largest city in Illinois. My climate journey really began through the people I've had the privilege to learn from throughout my career, professionals and mentors who helped shape my understanding of sustainability and deepened my appreciation for environment and the responsibility we carry in this work. I didn't arrive at this work alone. has been shaped by the heartfelt support of colleagues, friends, mentors, and leaders I've had the opportunity to learn from, and by a community that consistently shows up, engages, and pushes us to do better. I've always believed that sustainability isn't one-sizefits-all. It requires listening, collaboration, and willingness to approach challenges with both technical rigor and empathy. I'm proud to be part of this team and the city. I'm grateful to continue contributing to Aurora's progress. Thank you.

Another round of applause for Alex Manila here at the city of Aurora.

Ready? We will continue to move forward tonight and we're going to move to a tradition unlike any other here in the city of Aurora as tonight we honor residents who've made significant repairs to their homes while maintaining the beautiful history that this city has to offer. As we get ready for those 2026 Mayor's Awards of Excellence in Historic Preservation, we'd like to first bite up members of the Aurora Historic Preservation Commission, the Aurora Historical Society, and the respective award honores as the mayor reads out the annual Historic Preservation Month proclamation. Come on up, commission members, award winners, please come on up. And then the the award winners can probably hang out and stay close. Come on up.

John go. We got everybody. Okay. Whereas historic preservation is an effective tool for guiding thoughtful growth, strengthening neighborhoods, fostering civic pride, and maintaining the unique character and livability that makes communities thrive. Whereas the historic preservation is relevant for communities across the nation, both urban and rural, and for Americans of all ages, all walks of life, and all ethnic backgrounds. And whereas the city of Aurora values its rich heritage reflected in its historic homes, landmarks, public spaces, and institutions that continue to tell the story of Aurora's growth and enduring spirit. And where is the Aurora's commitment to historic preservation is strengthened through the dedication of the historic preservation commission, the Aurora Historical Society, dedicated city of Aurora Development Services Department employees, local property owners, and residents who work to protect and preserve our shared heritage. And whereas celebrating Aurora's architectural and cultural history helps ensure that the character, charm, and legacy of our community remains vibrant for generations to come. Now therefore, I, Mayor John Lash, do hereby proclaim May as historic preservation month in the city of Aurora, Illinois, and encourage all residents to recognize this observance by learning about, celebrating, and supporting the preservation of Aurora's historic places. award picture. We don't want to move.

Looks great. Ready, guys? Right at me. Big smile. You're all set. Happy Historic Preservation Month here in the city of Aurora. Oh, okay. That'll be a perfect cue to move into this year's mayor's awards of excellence for Historic Preservation. We'll have the award winners coming off to the side. We're going to go in order. We're going to start with 419 Pennsylvania Avenue. So, award winners, please come on over here and we'll start with 419 Pennsylvania Avenue. We have that right here on the screen. Beautiful PowerPoint prepared by our senior planner Joe Morgan.

So 419 Pennsylvania Avenue is owned by Gail and Jim Bon Durant. The homeowner removed the aluminum siding from the 1910 residence, revealing the original wood clapboard, window trim, and decorative fosia molding. The restored wood siding was then refinished and the home was painted in a complimentary twocolor scheme of white with green trim. Round of applause for 419 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It's for Gail and Jim at 419 Pennsylvania Avenue. Our next award tonight goes to 108 North View Street, owned by Dawn Monkman. Since purchasing the circa 1893 Queen Anstyle Holland Back House in 2017, the owner has been steadily restoring this historic property with great care. In 2023, the front porch was restored, including new tongue and groove flooring and repairs to the original columns and posts. In 2024, deteriorated shingles and siding were replaced and the home was completely scraped and repainted in a vibrant blue with complimentary yellow accents. Round of applause for 108 North View Street in Aurora.

We will move next to 625 Oak Avenue owned by Brenda Guerrero and Kevin Marin. Over the past few years, the previous homeowners have meticulously restored the property, repairing windows and doors and adding custom wood storm windows. The current owners completed the final major project of the home, scraping and repainting the entire house. Round of applause for 625 Oak Avenue here in Aurora.

They're not here tonight, but that's okay. Round of applause for them anyway for their great work on 625 Oak Avenue. Two more homes on our list here tonight. We are at 460 through 462 Iowa Avenue owned by Challenge to Change. Challenge to Change has taken great care in restoring this circa 1892 shinglest style home originally owned by John Kelly. The deteriorated porch railings were replaced with appropriate wood railings featuring turned spindles that match the historic ballsters. Exterior woodwork was replaced and the entire house was repainted in a historically appropriate three-part color scheme of blue siding, tan trim, and orange accents. Round of applause for 460 to 462 Iowa Avenue. Finally, we will conclude tonight with 149 South Fourth Street, owned by Linda Chapa Levia. Over the past two decades, the homeowner has lovingly cared for this 1886 stick style residence originally owned by Dr. George Caro and designed by noted architect John E. Mino. Recent improvements include a new roof, a new fence, repairs to exterior woodwork, and a full exterior repainting. The home now features a rich maroon color scheme with gray highlighting the fish scale shingles, and maroon and gold accents emphasizing the home's intricate details. Round of applause for 149 Southport Street here in a Okay, for everybody listening, uh uh we also have a Falcon naming contest going on right now. Um, you know, Linda's uh uh deceased husband, Vern, was an avid uh bird watcher here in the Fox Valley area. And when she found out about it, she asked if we'd named the the bird Vern uh one of the four hatchlings. And um you know, we put it out there and he

did come in as the the top vote getter so far. But if you haven't voted yet in a falcon contest, we got about a week. You can go to the city of Aurora's website and vote. Um, but she did she did uh have a a medical illness in the family and wasn't able to be here tonight, but uh I know that she would appreciate support for uh naming one of the Falcons after her deceased husband. You can go to vote now until next Monday at noon at your voice. Babyfalcons. We have 10 names. We had over 400 people submit to determine what those names should be. The top 10 submissions that we've received are now listed. And from that, we'll see how many votes come in. And the top four vote getters are going to be the names of the four new baby falcons who were born right here on the side of city hall. So, one more round of applause. How about for the 2026 Mayor's Awards of Excellence in historic preservation. Special shout out as well to Jill Morgan, one of our senior planners, for continuing to run this program very successfully year after year. So, at this time, we will invite up the Aurora Advisory Commission on Disabilities. They have a special presentation for the council. After that, we'll have a brief public works update from our director of public works, Jason Bower. Thank you. No, I don't want to switch places.

I have enough responsibility right here. Thank you very much for asking. So, my name is Jean Hass and I am the chair of the Aurora Commission on Disabilities and I'm very excited to be here because we have an awful lot of work that we're doing on our commission and I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about some of that with you. Um, we really feel like we are illuminating pathways and that's why that's up there. I am joined by commission members. Some of them will help me do this and some are here just for moral support and because we are the Commission on Disabilities, we value everyone's input in whatever manner they are able to support us. So, we're moving past some baseline compliance here in Aurora and really trying to improve accessibility for all individuals with disabilities. And when we talk about disabilities, we're not talking about just those that are visible or physical or cognitive. We're talking about mental disabilities as well as emotional disabilities. So our goal as a commission is to make sure that all needs of those with disabilities in Aurora are met. And we're doing that by shifting the way things have been done in the past, which is largely in isolated silos with small projects. We've decided to aim big. Let's see how we can integrate systems at the city level that will help all individuals with disabilities access services more effectively by establishing clear clear pathways and proactive planning at the city level that will help us then gather the data that we need in order to make better decisions in how to help support individuals with disabilities and their families. And we're doing that in several ways. So um we are now back to full capacity on the commission which makes us very happy for the recent appointments. Thank you for that. Um we are working with different um departments in the city in order to make

sure that we are in alignment in the plans that we have that will match the needs that the city has and trying to figure out not only how we can work with the city but how we can also interact with community- based organizations to make sure that they have opportunity to contribute to the benefit and welfare of all individuals with disabilities and their families. And one of the ways that we're going to do that is to tap into the city's 311 system and uh 211 system which is widely used in other areas to access human services and social services in different communities and um using a system called Iris in order to have people call. So somebody calls I have a problem they dial 311. 311 is like, "We don't do human services and social services, but we can point you to 211." And then the 211 people can say, "Oh, well, let's put your information out there in the Iris system." And then a community-based organization can say, "We can meet this person's needs." And in order to do that, we will reach out and get them the help that they need. It's in the works. It's in conversation. I'm excited. I think that this alone will help so many people in Aurora access services. As someone who has walked that path as a single parent and not had any clue about how to access what I needed or how. Wow. So, this one is a passion project that I think will help an awful lot of people. So, that's in the works. We also have an opportunity to respond to some of the things that may be happening at the federal level that negatively impact our citizens who have disabilities. And one of the ways that we would like to do that is to work with the city and community- based organizations to develop a rapid response plan. So, in the event of an interruption in some

kind of federal support systems, how can the city say, "We recognize that this is happening to our citizens and here are some ways that we might be able to help." And so, by proactively developing that plan, if there is a need, then there's already a plan in place. We don't have to try to scramble and try to figure out how to do that. So, the 311 would be a a place to say, "All right, this is the trigger. So let's send these messages out or these are the things we say if somebody contacts and have that iris piece that's available as well. So it's just another level of protection for our families with individual and individuals with disabilities. Yes.

My name is Emily Henson. I'm the uh vice chair of the commission. Um I'm just going to talk to you a little bit about some of the things that we've done with um resource fairs, but also how we're transitioning that to be a digital model. Um we've historically done resource fairs that have been moderately attended. Um some of them better than others and we recognize that not everybody can always get out to them. That's a a physical barrier for some people to get out to the uh resource fairs. So, what we would like to do is kind of with the support of the city have kind of dynamic uh a little bit more than the resource guide that we have like have some of our uh places that are in the resource guide or the places that we're participating in our resource fair to do like little commercials, you know, to do a little bit more dynamic of like this is how you can get in touch with us and this is how you can uh what types of services we provide. um and kind of leave it up to the agencies a little bit to decide how they want to um express that to people, but to have that be available 247 um kind of on demand so that people can access that at any time and not have to wait for a resource fair specifically. So that's pretty much what we're doing. We have two initiatives to help us better understand um accessibility for those with disabilities, physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities in downtown Aurora. One of those is to evaluate um parking accessibility. So, we're in the process of reviewing that with multiple departments in the city to look at how we might be able to broaden the availability of accessible parking downtown so that people can access businesses, restaurants, entertainment um more readily. Um the other one is a

citywalk assessment accessibility project and this one is um feet on the street and our plan is to simply walk downtown and find places that are doing things really well and find places that may be improved and to be in dialogue with the city and say, "Okay, so we went on this many walks and these are the things that we found." and to have some conversation about okay so these are the things that you then can decide whether or not you want to do something about them but we have brought it to your attention um good and bad so um that's the citywalk and this one's not mine

thank you

good evening I'm uh Andy Hubble I'm the executive director at Western Bridges in Aurora um finishing my first year as a member of the commission so thank you um what we want to focus on in uh is a list of organizations that provide access uh to advocacy for all residents right so we're looking at uh aid mutual ground service inc family focus can hessid and united way really the goals that we want to focus on moving forward is human contact human interaction getting somewhere from 311 to 211 to someone that you can talk to who can help you and steer steer you in the right direction. 211 becomes that portal for when things become complex and human interaction is required that it's accessible to them. Residents no longer feel like they're on their own at the moments when the stakes are the highest to them, right? They have someone to talk to. Um state the staff, the city staff no longer have to deal or improvise or stretch beyond their role when a case becomes complicated. And finally, the and the most important outcome that we want to get to is that it ensures that no one faces high stakes challenges alone. not residents and not the staff that serve them. Those are our basic goals for this project. Thanks. So what I hope that you can see in the initiatives that we have put together as our strategic plan is that we're really trying to develop um initiatives uh from the commission side that will advise city government in how better and more effectively to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. And by doing that, we then positioned Aurora with a an opportunity to lead regionally in how to best meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. Are there any questions?

Audible Smith. Thank you. That was a great presentation. I have two question. So, one's a question, one is not. So, I don't think this may be out of privy of what you guys do, but maybe you can brainstorm and and um get back to me. So, I have a daughter with special needs. I know

um who lives on her own and does wonderfully well, but probably every four months I get a notice from social security. Your health care has been declined. Next month you will not receive health care. So, it happens to everybody who is who is on some type of a a social security disability type thing. And I take care of it. I spend the time. I get on the phone, but I'm not going to always be here. And there's a lot of adults who don't have me to do that for them. So, you know, it it worries me for my own daughter when I'm no longer around. Um, but what are the other people in, you know, in Aurora doing when when they get the notice? And when you call, inevitably it's an error, but had I not called her her health care, her health insurance would have been would have been shut off at the time that they said, you know, and then you've got to get reinstated and and it's a problem. And and like I said, it may be outside of what you guys are doing, but you know, maybe there's something you guys are doing at Bardwell you can share. There's just there's just so many things that, you know, so many great things that people with uh disabilities can do. Um but then there's so many limits um roadblocks out there that that they don't have any assistance for. So um

we're hoping that the 211 and Iris um integration is a way to address that. Uh and beyond that, I'm not certain. Um it doesn't mean that we can't give it attention. Um, it means that we'll have to test the system and see how it works. Well, we have to recognize that it's out there. Absolutely. And that there are people that are that are going without health insurance because of this issue. And if there's ever anything that you guys can come up with or any ideas or anything that I can do because I know it's a problem far beyond us. Yep. And my second thing was if you go ahead

just to respond really quickly what we do at Weston, right? So, we see run into the same thing with our residents and then parents are like, "What do I do? What do I do?" We've really began um to have open open forums for education, inviting groups in the area who can really talk through that process. Um how to eliminate it, bring them in, invite parents in, uh just have a little uh Q&A. um groups like Clancy and Associates and and some of those folks um come in on a quarterly basis and meet with our new parents so that they can kind of help them maneuver some of the barriers and some of the things they're going to get hit by that they're not aware of at at some point. Right? So that's one of the things that we've started to do this year. So what we can do then is take that knowledge and make it a standing operating procedure and then get that out to organizations that would be supported through the 211 Iris process so that when they get that question they have that information

somewhere to go. And if you guys have any type of a flyer that you have put together or be willing to put together to share with all of us so we can get it out to our communities the great things you're doing. It would be wonderful to be able to share. I happen to have that. Yeah. So, if you would forward it to our chief of staff, Rich over there, Rich Jacobs, and he would forward it to all of us, and I know we'd be happy to get it out so that the rest of the city can see what the great things you guys are doing. Thank you for that. I think that's also part of your virtual resource fair initiative, right? Yes. Okay, perfect. Any other questions for the uh members of the council? Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, Jean. Appreciate the Thank you, Emily. Thank you. And John, I think we've got one more presentation from public works before. So, we're going to be starting talk city business. If anybody was here just for a presentation and wants to uh leave, you're welcome to. If you want to stay for the whole council meeting, you're welcome to do that, too. We'd love to have you. Uh so, this was a question just for an update on the 36 in uh transmission line headed out to the eastern side of the city. I'll let you have it, Jason.

Yeah. Uh Jason Bower with the Department of Public Works. uh been here a couple times talking about this project in various subcommittees. Uh good news, we're we're done. Everything is back up and running. The mayor mentioned it at the state of the city. Uh but we've been back up and running. Everything's connected. It's been about a month now and things are running smoothly. Uh but given the circumstances around it and coming to you guys with kind of unknown numbers, we thought it'd be a good idea just to give an update, quick overview of what was actually done out there. So on the exhibit that you can see here um running north south there that's Ohio and then east west through the middle of the exhibit that's the uh the railroad tracks. So there's a number of tracks there. There's a long casing that goes underneath the railroad. And inside that casing is where the 36 in uh water man is. That water man was installed in 1991 and it's actually welded steel pipe. So, it's a little different than the type of main that we typically install, which is more of a push on balance spigot type situation. And just to the north of the railroad tracks there, you can see Indian Creek. So, it was a very challenging location. Uh the grades were tough. And then on the south side, we got right into the ballparks at Sulfus Sulfusburg. So, it wasn't the easiest site to get to. And you can see highlighted there might not be the easiest to see, but there's two red squares that are located on the purple line. And the purple line, that's our transmission main, the 36 in. And those two areas are the only areas that we excavated for this project. So there was an excavation pit on the north and then an excavation pit on the south. One of them we did all the work. We did all the work on the south side and then the uh the water main liner came out on the north side. So, this is just a close-up view that GIS got with our drone that shows the proximity of that northern pit and basically right there next to the creek. And that was really the only excavation that was done there. Obviously, we needed to build an access road to get

down to it. That's all on Fox Valley Park District property. So, we worked in conjunction with them. And the south the launch pit. So, this is again there in yellow. That's the actual excavation. All of the trailers behind it. Uh it's a series of conveyors that we housed the liner in once it was delivered to the site. Uh John, can you click start on this one? So inside all those white boxes, that's just series of different conveyors. That's where they were doing a lot of the work where we fed the liner in through um and down into the pipe. And you can get a little bit of a better overall view as the the camera kind of pans down to see right there you can see on the north end where the receiving pit was. And so that very last trailer, that's the trailer that the liner was delivered in, all in one piece. And all of the other trailers, again, there were a series of conveyors and that's where all of the work was done to get it prepped to move into position. Um, the actual liner installation was done overnight, so we were looking for a good temperature window to make sure we could get the work done. The guys worked tirelessly. This was Vortex companies. The pits were dug by Miller Pipeline. Uh we had mentioned both of those companies when we came to council initially, but you can see them prepping all the material there. The resin. So the actual liner itself comes dry and then it gets impregnated with a resin and then it gets fed through the system. There it is with everything injected in it over on the right. And you can see it being pulled along the conveyors to the left. And then this is it getting launched down into the uh the into the launching pit. So it actually gets held right above it and it's actually it's inverted. So it actually gets turned inside out for the entire 350 ft that it was installed.

There's just two more pictures of the staging area. And so on the left there, that's the pit that it was launched from. And then on the right, you can see it coming out 350 ft later after it had passed the railroad in the creek. Um, this turned out to be pretty much right on par with what we thought it was going to cost somewhere. I think we quoted it could be as much as a million. Um, with everything it was right around 950,000. We're still getting some final numbers for the um, restoration. The only real alternative we would have had would most likely have been to do an entire new casing pipe under the railroad and the creek. um pull in new pipe and that would have cost a lot of extra time for permitting and delays and construction with bidding and and all of those things. So um we anticipate that work would have cost somewhere to the tune of more like three times what what this cost and you know public works was certainly heavily involved. There were a number of divisions, but also uh a lot of other people at the city helped. Mayor's office, council, we had a lot of assistance from finance and purchasing and of course GIS getting out there and helping us too. And everybody on the outside agencies between Vortex and Miller, it was great to have them a part of this project. And Mid-Americ here local, they were able to secure some hard to find parts for us. A lot of the things we needed weren't necessarily on the shelf given the size of the pipe. And since we needed things quickly, um we were happy that they were to help. they were there to help. And then Fox Valley Park District for their cooperation to help us get get in there because it was not the easiest site to access. So again, we just wanted to bring everybody up to speed because the last time we were here talking about it, it was, you know, doom and gloom. But we made it through. We're able to uh through a lot of work between water production, water sewer maintenance, make sure that we're able to still supply water. This main does carry about 50 to 60% of the water that leaves the plant on any given day. So, um, it took a lot of work to make sure that the tanks were still working right and people had water pressure and we didn't really hear any any issues. So, that was

it. Great job. Great teamwork. Anybody have any questions? Alderman'sville. Yes, it was a very good and informative presentation. Appreciate it. Oh, sure. Um, just two questions. What is the liner made out of and how long does it last? What's the longevity of that now that it's installed?

Um, so this is just it's like a cured in place epoxy resin. the the liner itself is like a almost like a felt material, but once the resin is fully impregnated into that material, it's just as good as a brand new pipe. So, I say just as good as a brand new pipe. This one only lasted since 1991. We're expecting to get a lot more out of this. This should be able to withstand a lot of the vibration from the tracks better and help bridge that. So, all of the existing joints that were leaking, um, they're not a problem anymore. We're really just using that as a host pipe to pull this new pipe through. So it it given you know the size of it it we're not reducing flows and hopefully we're not doing this again uh you know 35 years from now or however long that was.

Great. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions from the council? Thank you sir. Thanks. Okay. Uh there's no mayoral appointments. Next we'll move to public comment. Madam clerk, do we have any members of the public wish to offer public comment? Yes, we do. Outstanding. Will you please read the rules for public comment?

Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, all persons shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the council. Under our rules, any person may address the city council for up to three minutes with a maximum of 30 minutes allotted for all public comment. No person other than the timekeeper or the chair for the purpose of maintaining order may interrupt a person recognized for public comment during his or her comments. Members of the city council shall not engage with nor respond to a speaker during the time set aside for public comment. Staff is directed to follow up with members of the public with respect to any concerns raised during public comment within the scope of the city's authority following the adjournment of this meeting.

Thank you, madam clerk. Will you please read the name of the first person wish to offer public comment? Manuel Fernando Cardardoza. Welcome, Mr. Cardoza. Do you have uh three minutes beginning now? Originally, I did have a speech plan, but I don't believe it's appropriate time to read it out loud and I didn't make a censored version of it, so I don't really have anything safe for public comment today. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Cardoza. Ask clerk to please read the name of the next person wishing for public comment. Joe Toma.

Welcome, Mr. Tommy. You have three minutes beginning now.

Good evening, council. Several years ago, when I was chairman of AVAC, there was a member that gave me concern. Then I requested all members to turn in their DD214s to me. City of Aurora said no, turn it into the city of Aurora. One was hesitant and slow to respond. Long story short, the watchdog group that I'm with and know throughout the country indicated to me that that member was not honorably discharged and in fact had three felonies. But this council voted him in. I stream the city council meeting often. It's near to my heart for AVAC. Here are se So, here we are several years later. Official DD214 discharge documents are requested. This time I contacted Mr. Masiagos and suggested on how it should be handled and contact the King County Veteran Commission to verify all documents. He took note and said he would check it out. But based on how he voted and responded at the meeting, I feel he acted like he really didn't care. Next meeting was verified by the city of Aurora that all DD214s were submitted and vote was taken. Reviewing those papers, I can see I brought concern again to Mr. Masiagos. His response told me uh he acted like he didn't care. Again, this council voted every member in Mr. Bog, Mr. Miss Garcia, and Ted tried to make it a more personal. In that case, if it was personal, why

would all members of the City of Aurora Veterans Advisory Council not hesitate to turn in their paperwork except for one? 50 years later, returning vets scorn. 50 years later, I I think it I know that it still is concerning because it means nothing more than coming from you. I would be surprised if nothing happens. Don't say thank you for your service because coming from this council, I can't believe it because all the forms for the DD214s, you still don't have them all. You still haven't investigated them. You think you do? Look real close. There are not all official discharge papers and yet you ignore it. It's sad. It's really sad. Please don't thank me for my service.

Thank you, Mr. Toma. I'll ask clerk to please read the name of the next person wishing for public comment.

Mike Carrasco. Welcome, Mr. Krasco. You have three minutes beginning now. Good evening. I am here on behalf of the majority of the current members of the Aurora Advisory Council to formally express our serious concerns regarding the city of Aurora's recent actions which appear to reflect a lack of support for our council and raise significant questions about fairness, transparency, and the appropriateness of certain procedures. Our organization was established with the sole mission of serving veterans, their families, and the broader community through lawful, ethical, and service-driven initiatives. ensuring veterans have a voice and are cared for in an appropriate manner. List of AVAC acco accomplishments. Supported and assisted more than 50 local veterans and families annually, including financial assistance, food, bill payments, home repairs, and cleanup. Provided more than 50 scholarships ranging over the past 10 years in support of veteran dependent. Provided service dog support to area veterans with severe PTSD. assisted with veteran benefit affairs in support of networking and services. Act as a liaison with local city services to ensure and maintain property code compliance inspections for local veterans. Specifically, what we are concerned about verification of veteran status of members, official discharge paperwork, DD214, dismissing council concerns and recommendations for reappointments after numerous meetings to raise our concerns along with a lack of justifiable reasoning,

unethical practices by the current administration, untruthful statements to alderman during city council, committee of the whole, and rules administration and procedures meetings to potentially influence the outcome of votes. Lack of due diligence to ensure official documentation for members was verified and the committee members service would be validated. Attempts to exert undue influence over the internal operations of our organization, actions that could be interpreted as politically motivated or selectively applied. Such actions under the current administration undermine the integrity of the council and erode trust between civic institutions and the veteran community we proudly serve. Furthermore, due to these concerned, the underside members reserve the right to formally resign 10 of 11 members and cease participation as members and any affiliation with initiatives or partnerships involving the city of Aurora that may compromise AVAC's mission. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Carousel. I accept your resignation. Will the clerk please read the name of the next person wishing off for public comment?

Adam Paulie.

Welcome, Mr. Polly. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you for ying me the floor, Mr. Mayor. I am Adam Paulie with Aurora for Change and on Friday we are beginning our petition circulation to create a recall mechanism in the city of Aurora for our mayor and for our aldermen at large. Anybody interesting in circulating, they need to be a registered voter. That's it. And uh they can pick up petitions on our website aurora4change. That's with the number four aurora forchange.com. And the information in as to where to return those petitions to is on our website as well. We need between 4,000 and 7,000 petition signatures within these next 40 days. And I am confident that we will do that. And why is that? Because here in Aurora, we ask what if and then we go and we do it. And I am looking forward to creating a recall mechanism for our city so that people will have the ability to act when they have lost confidence in their leadership. Thank you. I yield the balance of my time.

Thank you, Mr. Pauly. Madam clerk, do we have any more members of the public wish for public comment? We do not. Okay. Next, we'll hear both the consent agenda and the direct to council consent agenda in full. I'll ask the clerk to please read both agendas in full.

260184, a resolution authorizing IMED Vision Care and First American administrators to administer vision insurance for active employees and retirees from January 1st, 2026 through December 31st, 2026. 260187, a resolution authorizing the execution of a joint funding agreement with the state of Illinois. the execution of a a phase 2 design engineering agreement with WBK Engineering in the not to exceed amount of $351,523 and the appropriation of $351,523 of MFT funds for the New York Street corridor safety improvement project 260195 a resolution authorizing the purchasing director to execute a contract with Barry Landscaping Maintenance of Lockport Illinois for mowing and landscaping maintenance of nine Aurora Fire Stations for one year and the option of two one-year extensions. 262000, a resolution to award a contract to Geneva Construction Company in the amount of 4,648,73310 and to appropriate 3,500,000 of MFT funds for the 2026 citywide street resurfacing West North project. 260211, a resolution authorizing the director of purchasing to enter into an agreement with Geneva Construction Company of Aurora in the amount of $433,98 for asphalt resurfacing at the Aurora Transportation Center parking lot and parking lot s downtown. 260214, a resolution to accept the bid from Superior Asphalt Materials North Aurora for the citywide asphalt purchase program. 260215, a resolution authorizing the execution of the expert partner memorandum of understanding between the city's for financial empowerment fund and the city of Aurora. 260217, a resolution authorizing the

execution of of a phase one preliminary engineering agreement with Gowalt Hamilton Associates and the not to exceed amount of $225,46 and the appropriation of $225,46 for the Farnsworth and Ogden intersection improvement project. 260223, a resolution establishing the maximum number of class D Farnsworth Belter Entertainment District liquor licenses unofficially related to the application from HC Aurora doing business at Hollywood Casino Aurora at 2500 North Farnsworth Avenue suite 220 in W1 260224, a resolution establishing the maximum number of class D Farnsworth Belter Entertainment District liquor licenses unofficially related to the application from HC Aurora doing business as Hollywood Casino Aurora 2500 North Farnsworth Avenue, Sweet 330 in Ward 1. 260225, a resolution establishing the maximum number of class D Farnsworth Builter Entertainment District liquor licenses unofficially related to the application from HC Aurora doing businesses Hollywood Casino Aurora at 2500 North Farnsworth Avenue, Sweet 440 in Ward 1. 260228, a resolution amending Next Generation 911 resolution R20143 to from 5 years to 10 years to align with contract 260234, a resolution authorizing the execution of a contract with Compass Minerals America in the amount of $1,65,000 and the appropriation and expenditure of MFTt funds for an amount up to $1,65,000 for salt purchases. 260239, a resolution amending the contract awarded to Mark 443 Incorporated for a CAD RMS system. 260248, a resolution authorizing the execution of a license agreement for the use of city of Aurora property for an outdoor dining area on a portion of 26 North River Street. 260251, a resolution establishing the

maximum number of licenses for tattoo and body art establishments in accordance with chapter 25, article 11, tattoo and body art establishments. 260260, a resolution approving the final plat for the reubdivision of lot 107 Ashton Point, Unit One subdivision on vacant land located at 3141 North Aurora Road. 260263, a resolution to award the North Forom Avenue water main replacement project located in W 6 to Gerardi Sewer and Water in the bid amount of $1,11,195. 260264, an ordinance approving a conditional use on 2850, 2871, and 2880 Vision Court for a food, textiles, and related products use. 260267, a resolution authorizing the execution of a phase one preliminary engineering agreement with Baxter and Woodman and the amount not to exceed $130,63.50 and the appropriation of $130,63.50 50 cents for the Belture Road highway safety improvement program project. 260268, a resolution approving a final plan on lot one of the reubdition of lot 107 Ashton Point, Unit One subdivision located at 3141 North Aurora Road for a vehicle repair minor use. 260269, a resolution authorizing the director of purchasing to process a change order to the agreement with performance construction and engineering for the South Broadway Avenue sewer separation Hazel Avenue to North Avenue contract in the amount of $90,000. 260270, an ordinance annexing property located at 1160 Jackson Street to the city of Aurora pursuant to a water service agreement. 260275, a resolution approving a final plan revision for lot 6 of Chicago Premium Outlets subdivision located at 2365 North Farnsworth Avenue for a restaurant

with a drive-thru facility in retail sales or service use. 260289, a resolution authorizing the approval of a lease agreement between the city of Aurora and Aurora downtown district. 260296 approval of the minutes of the Tuesday, April 28th, 2026 city council meeting. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any questions or motions to remove any items from either the direct to council consent agenda or the consent agenda? Hearing none, is there a motion to approve the items both to the direct council consent and the consent agenda as read? A motion was made by Alderman Franco, seconded by Alderwoman Smith. Uh, there being no further questions, will the clerk please call the role on both consent agendas? Garza, yes. Messiakos,

yes. Nunes, yes. Franco, yes. Seville, yes. Benuelos, yes. Smith, yes. Bug, yes. Bade, yes. Larson, yes. White, yes. 11, yes. Zero, no. Motion carries. The consent agenda and direct council consent agenda are both approved. Uh, next we'll move to unfinished business. We have two items. I'll be moving uh agenda item 260288 uh first uh because Alderman Messiakos has to recuse himself of the latter. Uh so I'll ask clerk to please read the first agenda item under unfinished business. 260288 a resolution authorizing the approval of a service agreement between the city of Aurora and Aurora downtown district. Is there a motion to approve this resolution? Motion was made by Alderwoman Smith.

Second. Second by Alderman Seville. Are there any questions or discussion regarding this resolution? There being none, I'll ask clerk to please call the role. Garza, yes. Masakos. Nunes. Yes. Yes. Franco, yes. Seville, yes. Benuelos, yes. Smith, yes. Bug, yes. Bade, yes. Larson, yes. White, yes. 10 yes, zero no one abstain. This resolution is adopted. Uh next uh resolution I believe is where Alderman Mesakos went to recuse himself.

260287 a resolution approving a memorandum of understanding between the city of Aurora and the Phillips Park Foundation. May I vote real quick? I I I was following the agenda item here and not looking paying attention to the numbers. So, um, my previous abstension would be a yes. So, cuz I thought we were talking about Phyllis Park Foundation moving down to unfinished. Understood. So, for the unfinished business item 260288, the with Alderman Messiaakos voting yes, the vote will be 11 yes, zero no. Yes.

Thank you, Mayor. And do you want to We'll give Alderman Masakos just a minute. Okay. Uh, is there a motion to approve this resolution as read? So, moved. Second.

Motion made by uh, Alderman Franco, second by Alderman Nudz. Um, are there any questions or discussion regarding this resolution? Okay. Hearing none, uh, I'll ask clerk to please call the role. Garza, yes. Nunes, yes. Franco, yes. Seville, yes. Benuelos, yes. Smith, yes. Bug, yes. Babe, yes. Larson, yes. White, yes. Ten, yes. Zero, no. One recute.

Motion carries. This resolution is adopted. There is no new business. Next, we'll have uh Chief Staff bring Alderman Messiakos back into the chambers. No reports under the bills agenda item 260308 the bill summary large uh bill list. Is there a motion to approve and pay the bills as presented? Second. Motion was made by Alderwoman Smith. Second by Alderwoman Garza. Are there any questions or discussions on the bills? Okay. Hearing none. Will the clerk please call the role? Garza. Yes. Masakos. Yes. Nunes. Yes. Franco.

Yes. Seville. Yes. Benuelos. Yes. Smith. Yes. Bug. Yes. Babe. Yes. Larson. Yes. White. Yes. 11. Yes. Zero. No. Okay. The bills are approved for payment. There's no need for a closed session. There being no further business to come before the council. Is there a motion to adjourn this meeting? Motion made by Alderwoman Smith. Second by Alderman Franco. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. This meeting is adjourned at 7:01 p.m.