City Council - Regular Meeting

June 23rd, 2026 is hereby called to order at 6.01 p.m. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Alderman Barrero?

Here.

Alderman Garza? Here. Alderman Masiakos?

Present.

Alderman Nunez? Here. Alderman Branco? Here. Alderman Seville? Here. Alderman Banuelos?

Here.

Alderman Smith? Here. Alderman Bugg?

Here.

Alderman Bade? Here. Alderman Larson?

Here.

Alderman White?

Here.

Mayor Lash is present.

Next item on the agenda, Alderwoman Bade requests permission to participate remotely per section 2-80 based on reasonable anticipation of an extended illness. Is there a motion to allow Alderwoman Bade to participate remotely? A motion was made by Alderman Seville, seconded by Alderwoman Smith. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries by voice vote. Next, Sergeant at Arms. Is there a motion to approve the appointment of Sergeant at Arms for this meeting? A motion was made by Alderwoman Smith, seconded by Alderwoman Garza. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries by voice vote. Next, the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't you guys do this? You'll stand in the first row and collectively lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

One, two, three. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the...

thank you and we'll move to the mayor's report take it away Tony good evening Tony Martinez chief communication marketing officer tonight we have a number of recognitions here tonight and our first one is for our annual Illinois Tejano week proclamation here in the city of Aurora's give a round of applause for the Illinois Tejano Society Actually, ITO, Illinois Tejano Organization. I'm sorry. So please, members of the organization, please join the mayor up on the stage for the Tejano Week Proclamation. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, I know that the Tejano Festival is coming up here shortly, and I'm sure that somebody will be speaking to talk a little bit about it and how they raise money for scholarships. We're going to begin with a proclamation here for Illinois Tejano Week, which is June 21st to June 27th, 2026. During the early 1950s, the first Tejanos began arriving in Aurora, settling in Aurora's east side. And whereas in 1959, a group of five Tejano men who worked at the Farmer Austin Weston Factory organized the Aurora Latin American Club with the goal of maintaining their Mexican American heritage, the Spanish language, patriotic involvement, and their children's education. And whereas in 1966, the Aurora Latin American Club purchased a building adjacent to the former Austin Western Factory on North Farnsworth Avenue, which became a social institution that unified people of Mexican origin in Aurora throughout cultural events, social gatherings, athletics, and more. And whereas the Hispanic community grew over the next couple of decades, with immigrants from Mexico becoming the dominant Hispanic group, the Tejano community became less prominent and an almost hidden subgroup. And whereas in 1998, Mr. and Mrs. Israel Castillo from Aurora founded the Northern Illinois Tejano cultural society to preserve and maintain Tejano culture and to raise funds for scholarships, eventually changing its name to the Illinois Tejano Organization. And whereas the Illinois Tejano Organization has, for the past quarter of a century, preserved and promoted pride in Tejano and Hispanic culture, supported the education of Hispanic students through scholarships, and demonstrated Hispanic community involvement and organizational leadership. Now, therefore, I, Mayor John Lash, do hereby proclaim June 21st through June 27th, 2026, as Illinois Tejano Week in the City of Aurora, recognizing Aurora's Tejano history, population, contribution, and culture. Let's give it up for the Tejano leadership.

Thank you. There you go, that's good. All right, you ready guys? Right here, one, two, and three.

Hi, I'm Joel Pena. I've been in Aurora since 1963. This organization's been, this is gonna be our 23rd annual scholarship festival. We give out scholarships to kids. All the money that we raise, we all volunteer. We don't get no money. All the money that we raise, we give back to the people that apply for the scholarships. You're welcome to join us. It's for everybody. It's not certain just because it says Tejano, it doesn't mean it's just for the Tejanos. It's for everybody. It's going to be over at the... Weiler Park in Aurora. So it's from 12 to 4, I mean 12 to 10, 12 to 10. So you kids don't have to pay. Anybody that's in school don't have to pay, just the grownups. So we appreciate if you join us and enjoy the music that we like. Thank you.

All right, let's give another round of applause for the Tejano organization. As mentioned, make sure to join them on Saturday at Wilder Park from noon to 10 p.m. If you want to go, entrance is $25 for adults, I think $20 for the pre-sale. If you do go, make sure you bring your dancing shoes. They love to dance. Make sure to bring an appetite, the wonderful food and culture throughout the day. So next on the agenda, we have a local Aurora student who is making waves in the national level. Mahika Jane, a student from Metea Valley High School, earned a national entry through the Illinois PTA Reflections Program. Out of thousands of student participants statewide, Mahika was one of just 27 entries selected by the Illinois PTA to advance to the national level across all categories and grade levels. She was the only literature entry from the Illinois High School to reach this prestigious stage. So please, let's welcome Mahika Jain up to the stage for her recognition.

Very impressive and really putting a spotlight on our city. Thank you so much. To Mahika Jane for earning a national level entry through the Illinois RTA Reflections Program as part of Matea Valley High School, representing just one of 27 submissions that reached the national circuit and serving as the sole literature entry from any Illinois high school to reach this prestigious stage. Your talent and dedication make Aurora proud. Thank you so much. And then we'll give Mahika a few moments to share her experience with the public and with the council.

Thank you for the honor first of all and thanks to my parents for leading me into this contest but when I was writing this I honestly did not expect it to make it that far in the rounds and I was just writing from the heart and writing from my experience and it fit the theme well and I'm glad it reached that level and I'm glad that I could use my talent for something to make our city proud.

All right, finally here tonight we are going to be recognizing some state champions here from one of our high schools here in Aurora. So before I introduce some of the students, I would like to introduce and bring to the stage our principal of Aurora Central Catholic, Paul Meyer, to join the mayor as we recognize our student athletes and any other administration if we have any from Aurora Central. So the first recognition goes to Aurora Central Catholic Cecilia Hilby, who won the Class 2A 800 Meter Run State Championship, breaking a school record with a time of just two minutes and 11 seconds. So let's welcome and celebrate Cecilia Hilby for the Class 2A 800 Meter State Championship.

Yes. Ready, one, two, and three, big smile.

Do you want to do a group photo at the end?

Yeah, so yeah, exactly. We'll do a group photo at the end. So the next is a group. So this is the only individual state champion right now for Aurora Central. And our next is a relay group. Next, we'd like to recognize Ben Bohr, Jack Sviantek, Giovanni Gutierrez and John Reinbold, who made more history, winning the Class 2A 4x800 meter relay with a time of just 7 minutes and 42 seconds, breaking another school record. Let's give a round of applause for Ben, Jack, Giovanni, and John as they come to the stage for recognition.

I will do one group photo.

Right here, guys.

Ready? One, two, and three. Big smile. Thanks. Come on up. I'll get one. Yeah, we'll come up. We'll take a whole group. Now let's switch to the side right there for me. Okay. All righty, guys. Ready? One, two, three, right here. All right. You guys want to talk? No.

I didn't prepare a speech, but thank you to everybody for your support. Congrats to these guys. We're glad that they were able to represent their school and the city of Aurora to the best of their abilities. We did this two years ago with another gentleman. We hope that we continue to do this with our kids at our school. So thank you to everybody. Thank you, Mayor, for acknowledging and being present. Thank you all.

Let's give another round of applause for Aurora Central Catholic Chargers. It is no easy feat to be a state champion here in the state of Illinois, so congrats, guys. Thanks for leading us in the pledge. So as we continue the mayor's report, I wanted to highlight a few things going on throughout the city here in the next coming weeks. We have started our campaign for If You Light It, We'll Cite It. So make sure to be conscious of your neighbors and our furry friends at home. Please do not light off illegal fireworks. And if you do notice something in the neighborhood, make sure to report it. You light it, we site it. For the council members, we do have yard signs available for your neighborhoods. And then also if any member of the community would like any of the yard signs, they can contact 311 and they'll be able to pick up their yard signs in our pickup locations. So as we talk about July 4th and what's happening in the city of Aurora, July 3rd will be our fireworks celebration. Now back at River Edge Park at the newly remodeled. So yes, it'll be a great time celebrating the 250 year anniversary of our country. For the first time since I've been around, we're going to be having a live band performing. So we'll have a DJ, a We'll have a live band playing some classic rock, pop tunes, and some popular songs from 7 to 9, and a fireworks celebration approximately around 9-15. So come on out. Entry is free. We'll be releasing all the shuttle bus information and all the details for July 3rd here tomorrow for the general public. and then on the next day on saturday on fourth of july parade at 10 a.m make your way on down to downtown aurora for an electrifying parade this year and we're proud to announce our grand marshal of this year's parade juanita wells who is a great community members dedicated many years of her life contributing to this community and we'll be recognizing her at our next council meeting next week before july 4th so A lot of great things happening. Hopefully we get some great weather and going to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country. And that completes the presentation tonight.

Thank you, Tony. Got one more item we're going to hear from our lobbyists and Nick just to get a legislative update about what happened in Springfield and then what's coming up a little bit we'll touch on in veto session. And then the other thing I just want to make the council aware, I don't think these were distributed, but we did break out the census maps by ward so you can see what areas, which tracks in your ward are being distributed. recounted because you might get questions on that I'm sure Shannon will email that over to the to the council so you're a little better awareness I'll let you guys take it away and then we'll have time for a few questions don't want to spend too much time on it thanks good evening council Nicholas Richard Thompson deputy chief of staff and Baltimore Lopez one of our lobbyists firm strategy and consulting

Thank you members of the City Council and Mayor for inviting us this evening and also staff for putting these meetings together. Being a former local elected official, I know the importance of the transparency to our local constituents and understanding where we're spending our dollars primarily. So my name is Baldemar Lopez. My partner today could not make it. Unfortunately, he had some some plane issues, some mechanical issues in terms of getting up here to the City of Chicago for this evening, James Claiborne. So I am taking this presentation alone this evening and would like to inform you of some of the activity that occurred during this past legislative cycle that I think is critical for the City of Aurora, other municipalities across the state of Illinois to get a better understanding of what transpired specifically and where we go from here and where Aurora can be best positioned going down the road. First I'd like to just talk about what happened. Many of us heard about the The Build Illinois Act, we heard about the Chicago Bears Stadium being built. Unfortunately, they decided not to come to Aurora. Maybe we could still convince them to come to Aurora if they really want to come to Aurora, but nonetheless, that is one of those bills that sucked the air out of the entire room. down in Springfield. But I would say that probably for the most part what really spent a large segment of the attention of the Illinois legislature was the budget. We faced significant budget cuts primarily because at the federal level we had issues with cuts specifically to Medicaid. So that caused a big donut in our state budget. So we spent a significant amount of time, I say we, because I do represent some healthcare clients in that space, but nonetheless, over the span of session, we had significant cuts and we had to make up those cuts in various specific areas, whether it was through cutting specifically social services and also talking about or addressing the revenue that we needed for the state of Illinois, and some of those revenue matters were addressed during this session, specifically focusing on ad taxes, digital taxes, and things of that nature. But nonetheless, that's what kind of transpired during session as it relates to some of the big ticket items. We also, as I alluded to earlier, the Build Illinois Act, was also a major component of this year's discussions, specifically as it relates to one of those legislative initiatives that the governor wanted to advance. As most of us know, fortunately, because of the preemption issues of the sovereignty issues to local municipalities, that bill didn't go forward or a package of bills didn't go forward but there's ongoing discussions as it relates to the Build Illinois Act or some type of modified version of what could potentially advance during veto session or lame duck session or maybe even next year during the next legislative cycle. So those are some of the things that transpired during session. I can also talk to some of the key meetings that took place in Springfield this year. The Mayor was able to come in and talk to the Speaker of the House, specifically addressing or talking about issues that are affecting the City of Aurora, some of the funding needs that are required to continue advancing our infrastructure here in the City of Aurora. Also had an opportunity to set up a meeting with the Senate President, where we address basically the same areas talking about the needs for the city of Aurora specifically as it relates to infrastructure and also addressed issues revolving around the Illinois Power Act and and build Illinois. Outside of meeting just with the legislative branch, we also had an opportunity to meet with the Office of Management and Budget also to discuss some of the funding priorities that the City of Aurora has. And we had an opportunity also to have a more robust conversation with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to talk about some of the needs that the city of Aurora has specifically in some of the funding areas. So those are some of the things that transpired during this legislative cycle. It doesn't mean that we're all done as it relates to doing our outreach to the executive branch of government and working together with our local government officials also to make sure that we continue addressing the needs of the city of Aurora but very specifically making sure that we're delivering the resources to the city. Some of those areas that I'd like to pinpoint or talk about, I don't know if you can move to the slide of some of the deliverables. Not that one, Nick, the other one. We were able to get designated to the city of Aurora $1.3 million for some of our infrastructure needs. So that's a broad category. Those are resources that would come later through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, but are specifically designated for our infrastructure needs in this community. There are some additional resources too as well that were allocated to various different organizations that alleviate some of the pressure as it relates to the City of Aurora designating funds to those specific organizations. So all collectively we would say it's about maybe 2.8 million or so that was delivered to this community. Of course not only through our efforts but also through the efforts of various different stakeholders and other other community organizations to as well that advocated forget some of the tickets to receive some of these resources uh... going forward make i don't know if you want to go to the quick go ahead go back on a hit on the the for legislative pieces there religious shows that we're playing mostly defense uh... protecting lgbf funding

was a key priority. It was a proposed cut in the governor's budget, but through our partners and our lobbying arm, we're able to preserve that level, which is not moving forward. We wanted to see that amount increase, but the BUILD Act, we have a plan to work on this summer, and then Tier 2 pension reform was something that there was a lot of municipalities united on to block any real move forward. The health and transparency bills below relate specifically to the HFSRB, which is an appointed board by the governor that is supposed to have oversight over the sales of things like Mercy Hospital. So it had a huge impact on our community when Prime Hospital came in and purchased number of healthcare facilities and made a promise to our community specifically that they would not cut any services in two years and yet in two to three months before I took office they had already eliminated their ability to provide emergency services. So what these two bills do is give that HFSRB board does not currently have the authority to even deny these sales. And then the second bill allows the Attorney General to hold a healthcare facility like Prime accountable when they make a promise in writing about not cutting departments and then come into our community and cut services. So there are two Band-Aid fixes that don't address the immediate problem at Mercy. There is an effort to create a new tier of trauma level, tier three trauma level support that's being evaluated right now in June, July, and our hope is that Mercy will embrace that tier three trauma level once the state has written guidelines into it.

Right. And to that point, Mayor, there's a series of other bills too as well that are THAT ARE BEING CONTEMPLATED to address some of these needs. LGDF is one specific category where there was proposed cuts that could have affected the city of Aurora with upwards of, I think, $500,000 or so. Fortunately enough, that was preserved, not only for the city of Aurora, but municipalities across the board. I think there's more robust, larger conversations about helping to secure additional resources for municipalities. And going forward, I don't know if you want to go to the next slide over here. That deals mostly with some of the federal resources being allocated to the city. But I think going forward as it relates to the ongoing conversation with municipalities, there's also property tax cuts that are also being discussed as part of this mega projects bill. That's an imperative and very necessary discussion to have where the city of Aurora can have more of a larger influence to dictate, to guide that conversation. I don't know how significant those savings would be to some of the local residents here in the city of Aurora, But something is something as it relates to this ongoing conversation to save some of those resources. Going forward, as it relates to the next legislative cycle or veto session or what is called the lame duck session, there's going to be ongoing discussions as it relates specifically to the Illinois Build Act. And that's where we're heavily involved and Nick you can speak more to that or Mary you could speak more to that too as well Where we are primarily or trying to drive the conversation with some of the cogs to make sure that you know there there's there's a couple of of initiatives that move forward that make sense and that don't adversely affect us as a municipality. But there are items specifically that are being addressed by the governor that do make sense for low-income individuals that for a community such as Aurora makes sense. But again, making sure that we preserve our sovereignty as a municipality when the General Assembly attempts to push something further down the road. Again, budget is also going to be an issue. We advanced the largest budget ever here at the State of Illinois of $56 billion. Don't kid yourself. Don't think that it was to preserve specific items. It was just done out of necessity. that's where the revenue came into play too as well so we are probably looking at a budget that is going to have significant shortfalls next year but it doesn't mean that we don't start having the conversation specifically as it relates to capital funding here in the state of Illinois we are due for a capital bill and that's where we have to aggressively insert ourselves as a municipality to make sure that we have some of those shovel ready jobs, sorry, some of those shovel ready projects ready to be funded to as well. So part of that is those ongoing conversations that are going to take place during the next legislative cycle. I don't know if you have something else to add, Nick and Mayor.

FOR SURE. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE BUILD ACT. RIGHT NOW, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IS TAKING LEAD WITH SOME OF THE OTHER COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENT, AND WE'VE MET WITH THEM AND HAD A REALLY GENERATE DISCUSSION AROUND A COUNTERPROPOSAL TO THE BUILD ACT AS WELL AS THE REAL ACT, WHICH WAS PUT FORWARD BY THE IML. THE IDEA WAS WE SAT DOWN AND WE TALKED ABOUT what we definitely wanted out of an affordable housing bill and what we would not be able to take on. So a lot of the undermining of local sovereignty, as Walter Moore has discussed and alluded to, were in agreeance. Almost every municipality in the state of Illinois is in agreeance, besides several. So the idea is to work with them and then to work with some of our local state elected officials to make those amendments and to put forward a bill that will achieve the goal of building more housing for sure and ensuring it's affordable, but not undermining local zoning and completely changing the control that local governments have over the zoning. But I'm happy to take questions about that.

And I think I'd like to add something else. This past session, we also had an opportunity for the mayor to go down there and provide testimony specifically as it relates to the Illinois Power Act. That's certainly an area that I think the administration wishes to be part of and continue to be part of those conversations, which I think are critical as we have an expansion of specifically data centers across the entire state of Illinois, specifically Aurora being targeted as one of those communities where they like to build these data centers.

I'll just add to that. So very specifically, because all the woman bait is listening from abroad, the things that we're advocating for are similar things as we passed in our local ordinance. One is they were all about sound and noise regulation. We want the state to change from the nine active band measuring system that they use to a decibel system and to reduce that level, as well as provide continuous monitoring of noise for ongoing future data centers. And then the third thing that our community asked for was to do some sort of long-term health study, which the city of Aurora is not poised to do, but perhaps the Illinois Department of Public Health, if tasked by the General Assembly, could pull something off to understand better what the long-term health impact of that consistent study is. droning sound is. So those are the three things that we injected and it was very well received by the committee and the bill's sponsors have been in dialogue about how to incorporate that into the regulations.

Happy to take questions.

Well, thank you.

I have a question.

Go ahead.

Mr. Mayor, thank you. I appreciate you coming down and going over what's taking place in Springfield. It's much appreciated. Could you go back to the slide that shows the 2.8 million that was capital appropriations? So with this list, are these Is this new capital or is this from last year?

No, this is new capital counts. There is funding that gets reappropriated on a yearly basis that you actually have to go down there and continue fighting for. So you have to reinsert yourself. There's specific funding without going into too much detail about the Broadway corridor that has to be reappropriated on a yearly basis. until construction actually starts or before construction engineering phase one, phase two monies that have to be designated.

Okay, thank you.

Alderman Maciakos?

Yes, thank you, Mayor. I would like to reiterate what I said to you earlier before the meeting started, sir. Thank you for those reports. They were omitted for about four or five years, unfortunately. But they're great to have back again and to help us out, too, understanding what's happening down in Springfield and what you're working on. You mentioned that you're trying to work with local elected officials. Would it be too much to ask to have an update in regards to where our local elected officials down in Springfield, or maybe even, but definitely Springfield, where they stand on some of these issues? For example, the governor's housing plan, or even the Power Act? Specifically?

Yeah, I, without, you know, going into too much detail just because I can't get in there. It's a general question. But yeah, no, for sure, Councilman. I think for the most part, most of the city, most of the local elected officials are aware of some of the problems that these bills, that specifically the housing, the Illinois Build Act, the housing bills would pose to local municipalities. So I think... Collectively, most of them are aware of the need of increasing housing stock for specifically as it relates to those less fortunate in our communities. And whatever the definition might be for affordable housing, obviously that's a bone of contention. But I think overall, most are concerned about the preemption issues to local municipalities. As it relates to the Power Act, I think that it's a segment. I think that there are some of the elected officials that are supportive at the local level and some folks that are still more or less trying to figure out what specifics are going to be included in that final package or in the final version.

So is the answer yes or no to my question?

Are they? Some are supporting and some are opposing.

Is it a challenge for you to give us information on which ones are supporting or not supporting or still on the fence?

I think for the most part, I think they're all analyzing all proposals. I don't think one is, I don't think collectively as a whole they're against or for. I think they're in favor of some specific provisions and against some provisions. As I alluded to earlier.

All right. So it's not a problem for you to give us an update in terms of if there's someone that's working contrary to what we're trying to achieve. Maybe we could help out because we meet a lot of these elected local officials out and about in our community, maybe even go down to Springfield once a year. I think it would be good to know where they stand specifically and then maybe who we need to talk to specifically if they're in objection to what we're trying to achieve here. without getting in a specific item.

On these two specifically, I think what we can do is do a short roll call and see where they're at. But to Mr. Lopez's point, I think there's been, as things are always a shifting target down there, there's always a hesitancy to commit one way or the other. I know on the Power Act, that Senator Villa co-sponsored after meeting with a number of lawmakers, and we've communicated the letter that we sent to the committee chair on the sound for the noise regulation on data centers to all of our local reps and senators.

Senators and representatives, correct.

And the bill's sponsors and co-sponsors, and have worked with them to try and get that language inserted. But I think we can probably get for Alderman Masiakos a quick tally, but there are moving pieces. I can tell you our strategy specifically on the BUILD Act, what I heard was that the governor's office didn't work with the legislature IML came up with their own bill, didn't work with the legislature. So what we're trying to do is work among the cogs to iron out what we can agree on and then work with, there were eight bills in the Senate and House that were pushed forward that dealt with housing and try and find a few of those that can be amended and worked towards something that we're supportive of. Some of them made it through one chamber or the other, so we feel good about those and want to work with those to adjust those. So my take on the BUILD Act is that it's going to be pretty fluid all summer, but certainly we can reach out and take the temperature.

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

The answer is yes.

That's what I'm hearing.

I can get back to you for sure. All right. Because I don't want to just. As it relates to that.

I want it for the entire city council. I don't want to be single dot. I'm asking for the entire council. Yeah. Very well. Because if these are important right now that you're working on for our city, I think it's important that we advocate as well and help out. with what the message is and what the messaging should be.

We have meetings pending with some of them. As the mayor mentioned, there's shifting circumstances down there. So some of them we have spoken to and are still waiting for amendments to be made. I think everybody's in agreeance about affordable housing as a concept, philosophically the ethos of it, the method of getting it. That's where people disagree. What we will do is we'll continue having meetings with the COGs. Once we reach a point where we have found agreeance on some of the amendments, we're going to then take it to the legislator, like the mayor said, and then we will definitely keep the council updated on where our local senators and representatives stand so that you can also be advocates for protecting local sovereignty. So the answer is yes.

All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Any other questions? Extended mayor's report. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. Turkey City Council.

Okay. Next, we're going to go into mayoral appointments before public comment. I know that the next agenda item, Alderman Ben-Willis would like to recuse himself. Now I'll ask the clerk to please read the first agenda item under mayoral appointments.

260266, a resolution authorizing the appointment of Zyra Juarez, Cynthia Rocha, Jennifer Orta, Eduardo Orozco, Raquel Rodriguez, Melissa Sosa, and Lizette Zuniga to the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board.

Is there a motion to approve this resolution?

So moved.

Motion made by Alderman Larson. Second. Second by Alderman Barrero. Are there any questions or discussion regarding this resolution?

Mayor.

Alderman Nunez.

Thank you. Nick Thompson walked out. Is there any other staff members that are familiar with the request, my previous request of Nick, regarding whether or not he was able to get the appointees some time to talk?

I told him that here's the problem is we've had some involvement with board chairs in the selection process, which has created significant legal liabilities for the city. So I'm not involving the boards and commission chairs in that process.

I asked for the general board. I didn't say a specific person from the board. I just said general conversation between boards and any potential appointees.

Oh, Nick. Sorry.

Hello. Was there questions? I'm sorry, I was talking to our office.

We were just talking about 260266 regarding the Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board. Correct. And my ask of whether or not you were able to get the existing board to have a conversation, FaceTime, what have you, Teams call with any of the appointees.

We were not able to, and unfortunately, the chair had surgery, so was not really up to doing that. What we have done, most of the members that are being appointed, aside from, I think, two, have spoken to the board at some point and were part of the interview process, the initial interview process, so have gotten a little bit kind of face time with them. But the two members in particular that were not able to, we weren't able to make it happen. But we did try.

Questions or discussions on this agenda item? Hearing none, I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Alderman Barrero? Yes. Garza? Yes. Maciakos?

Yes.

Nunez?

Abstain.

Franco?

Yes.

Seville?

Yes.

Smith? Yes. Bugg?

Yes.

Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White?

Yes.

10 yes, 0 no, 1 recusal, and 1 abstain.

This motion carries. The resolution is approved. Do we have Zara Juarez, Cynthia Rocha, Jennifer Orta, Eduardo Orozco, Raquel Rodriguez, Melissa Saucer, Lizette Zuniga here? Can we please stand and be recognized? Hang tight. We'll take a picture here in just a minute. OK. I'll let the record reflect that Alderman Banuelos has returned to the dais. And I believe that Alderman Masiakos would like to recuse themselves for the next agenda item. Okay, I'll ask the clerk to please read the next item on the agenda under mayoral appointments.

260295, a resolution authorizing the appointment of Diane Lance, Christopher Childress, Natasha Prunty, Juan Cifuentes, and the reappointment of Gina Moga and Jonathan Hilton to the Aurora Civic Center Authority Board.

Is there a motion to approve this resolution?

So moved. Second.

Motion made by Alderwoman Garza, second by Alderman Larson. Are there any questions or discussion regarding this resolution?

Mayor Lynch. Alderman Barrero. Yes, I wanted to make a comment.

First of all, let me begin by saying that I disagree with Alderman Franco's comments on June 2nd regarding the ACCO appointments. Aurora has endeavored to embrace its diversity, and we have made much progress with that respect. I grew up in Aurora, grew up on both sides of town, graduated from East Aurora High School. We all got along and had many friends that were diverse. We have made a lot of progress and recently the city of Aurora has increased its boards and commissions. And so we have many more boards and commissions serving a wide variety of different issues in the community. And those boards and commissions are for the most part, reflective of the community. So we've been doing a great job reaching out. It's not always easy to get people to step up and volunteer, but we're doing our best. ACCA has made a huge impact on Aurora. Many of us remember the days when downtown was dark, not a lot happening. But the performing arts and live music have been thriving in Aurora. The additional foot traffic from multiple entertainment venues in the downtown has been vital for economic development. No one wants to go backwards. The ACCA appointments matter. Board member terms were expired under two different administrations. Last year, before the change in administration, ACCA board appointments were on the agenda and then removed. So we were not able to act on them. Fast forward to 2026. A few months ago, three of your appointments were moving forward and then removed from the agenda without an explanation. This created an atmosphere of mistrust. All other board and commission appointments and reappointments are done in a more timely manner. ACCA has struggled to operate in the block after COVID and requested financial assistance from the city. During the 2026 budget discussions regarding ACCA funding, fundraising was cited as a needed area to improve upon, so it seems logical that fundraising would be a factor in board appointments. At the same time, it is also beneficial for ACCA to be reflective of the community. Both of these things are true and important. The ACCA board appointee meet and greet event was beneficial for the community. They got to meet the appointees. The ACCA board appointee interviews were beneficial for both the city council and the appointees themselves. The interview helped underscore areas of importance to the appointees from the questions that were asked by members of this dais. So that's important. While there are some concerns with the overall appointments, the sky is not falling. The city council cares about the success of ACCA and is ready to continue to be a strong partner. We have voiced our concerns, but now we need to come together and move forward. A yes vote is for unity and moving forward, so I will be voting yes. Thank you.

Thank you, Alderman Barrow. Alderman Larson.

Thank you. I also wanted to share my thoughts regarding these appointments and why I'm going to be supporting all of them. So as Alderman Burrow mentioned, a couple of weeks ago, the appointees had an opportunity to introduce themselves to the community. We had a packed room. Obviously, not everyone's able to fit in the room, though. And then later on, we were able to interview them in closed session. And I also appreciated that. From what I was able to see, the appointees had a good mix of experiences and ideas for how to make ACCA even more successful, and it was good to see that they were eager to work together and build on each other's strengths. I feel that if appointed, the new board will add to what is already successful at ACCA. Nobody indicated that they wanted to come in and change everything. I think we have a good group of people here who wants to do their part to help serve their community. As I believe Alderman Bug mentioned, ACCA covers more than just the Paramount. And with that, I believe we still have a lot of potential to expand on the arts in Aurora, both within the scope of ACCA, and beyond the scope of ACCA and Downtown Aurora, and that has the potential to benefit everyone. I also want to address the topic of diversity. For those who don't know, I grew up in Geneva, not Aurora. Geneva is much less diverse than Aurora, and one of the big reasons I moved to Aurora is because of our diversity. And I know a lot of other people who have come to Aurora have come for the same reason. ACCA brings a lot of people into our downtown from neighboring communities, including Geneva, and I don't think additional programming meant to include more people will take anything away from ACCA's current success. In fact, I believe it'll only draw in more people, especially people who live in Aurora that feel as though they've not been included. As I understand, only about 17% of Paramount subscribers are Aurora residents. I would argue that diversity is the greatest strength of our city and our nation. We have heard from local businesses that business has been struggling as a result of ICE agents coming into our city and terrorizing people simply for looking brown, especially starting last fall. Close to half of Aurora's population is Latino, and the impact of people being made to feel unsafe in their own community by a tyrannical federal government has clearly impacted our local economy, though I believe this will come to an end, hopefully sooner rather than later, as long as we look out for each other and stand up against injustice. Despite any comments claiming the contrary, black and brown members of our community absolutely do embrace the arts and are vital to both our local economy and our culture. Also worth noting, which is timely since we recently celebrated Juneteenth this last weekend, art and culture in the US is heavily influenced by oftentimes stolen and reappropriated black culture, whether it's in our music, our language, or our food. People are struggling right now due to economic stress and the senseless attacks on our immigrant and immigrant-adjacent communities. While these problems are manmade and can be solved in time, people throughout history have embraced art in times of hardship, and today is no different. I know we all want to see the arts thrive in our city, and I, as a member of this community, would like to give these appointees a chance to represent our city and build on what their predecessors have accomplished. So I will also be voting yes.

Thank you. Alderman Saville. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My understanding is the ACCA authority by the state of Illinois was first established in the 1970s, the Civic Center Authority. And with that, the limitation was to have nine board members. That, to me, is really the issue that we face today because in the 70s, when this legislation was established and ACCA was formed, the city council passed the necessary legislation to have that occur, and they purchased the Paramount and began their mission. We're limited by the number of board members, and our population was like 70-some thousand in those days. Well, we're almost triple that today. And today's ACCA board does not reflect our population because I think the limitation of the numbers. We need to really look at the issue here and look, I guess, and I talk with other aldermen as well as the mayor about this, is to work with the state of Illinois to give us the authority to increase the number of board members, to be more reflective, to have us be able to meet our DEI needs and our goals that we have for our community. Um, in my research on this and what other theaters do is for example, the Goodman theater in Chicago, they have less seats than we do, but they have 80 board members, 80, eight, zero. We have nine. And this is what we're, we were debating about. They're able to reflect their needs in Chicago, but we're not able to reflect ours. So I think we need to take a serious look at that to meet our goals in our community. So I think the discussion needs to expand, um, in order for us to be more inclusive and make sure everyone has a voice. Um, so I would propose, I guess, two things. One is we work with the state of Illinois, our legislators and Springfield to change the number of seats that we have, or we are allowed. But in the meantime, because I know that takes time. working with the state. I think this should go back to committee, this idea to the RAP committee to create at least the beginnings of a advisory board So we can expand it now. We don't have to wait for the state, the legislature, to do that. Like I said, the Goodman Theater has 80. Surely we can do just as good. And we can do two things. We can increase our corporate fundraising and meet our programming needs according to what our population of our city wants and desires to have us do. So again, I think the creating of an ACCA advisory board would be good. And I think we need to do this forthwith, that we can't wait anymore. Our residents that are calling us and contacting us, our constituents, I think, are telling us in their own way they're demanding this, that we do this. And I think we should take that step.

I would just say I'll talk to Alderman Seville prior to the meeting. I don't know if Baltimore is still here, but I don't certainly have any problem trying to advance the idea of changing the number in the Illinois legislatures Guidelines around the Aurora Civic Center Authority. So the state of Illinois breaks out each Civic Center Authority Peoria has one Aurora has one Rockford has one and It stipulates how many members there are so that is as the alderman pointed out would would take time with respect to This set of appointments I think that we've done our best to maintain continuity of the old board and new board by keeping three members on there and through reappointments. And we've done our best to diversify and we've done our best to make sure that there's both financial oversight and unique and new fundraising ideas coming to the table. It's only nine members that we get to appoint, but the governess rests with those nine members. The decisions about programming rest with those nine members, and I want to make sure that if that's where the real power is versus an advisory board, that the real power has the voices of diversity and the voices of our community on it. I don't mind having a larger discussion or maybe perhaps changing the role of the MEE board to better guide entertainment. I think that may have been their initial charter, but better guide entertainment around this. But I don't know that, I think I've done the best job to come up with a list of highly qualified appointees that'll achieve the four goals that we laid out when we started this process. So with respect to that, when these nine members, these are the ones that I'll be appointing, even if we do have a different discussion at RAP. And I would see it as more of an unnecessary delay. But if we could still have a discussion about how to change the MEE board, and just giving the council some very realistic realities to deal with here is that we have 36 boards and commissions. And the previous administration wanted to add a person or two. We didn't go in that direction. We had to cut four. So our ability to handle the unique demands of 36 boards and commissions has been diminished significantly. And we've seen and felt that effect. The board members have felt it. It's not for a lack of trying it's just for a lack of people We are working right now to change the boards and commissions roles to reduce the You know to try and have some affiliated nonprofit to do the fundraising because of concerns out of legal But there's going to be a number of shifting pieces But as far as adding a new board I would I would just suggest that adjusting the the role of the me board might be more appropriate because I think they look at the city's entertainment They look at advising the venue and could, of course, be included in advising YACA. But that's one way to do it without increasing the workload and burden on city staff. So I guess those are my thoughts on it from a very pragmatic approach to the issue and concern. And I think that that probably starts with an already diverse, relatively diverse board.

Thank you. I just wanted to reiterate something I mentioned in RAP committee. RAP committee is where the boards are considered. That's a committee where we do that. So just the basic foundation of how you apply to a board. Of course, there's an application process. It is open to everyone. You just go on the city website. You can look at any number of, if you say there's 36, I'm going to believe you, 36 boards and pick one that you may be interested in. interest and how you can help move the city of Aurora forward you felt your application it comes into the mayor's office mr. Thompson over sees that part and and then consideration is given and those names are We'll say vetted by a number of different people, by the mayor's office. Everything through the mayor's office goes through legal. Aldermen can make suggestions on people to apply to different boards. And certainly as those appointments go forward, the people who are proposing, certainly the existing board has commentary and they have input on future people. However, the existing board does not vet future board members. That is solely those appointments, and the appointments are solely of the mayor, not just this mayor, every mayor. The former administration, the administration before that, my dear friend Bob O'Connor and Tom Weisner, it all happened the same way. They make the appointment. It goes to the RAP committee, what we have now, for advice and consent. So the advice and consent starts at RAP committee, and it goes to this body. This body is the one who finalizes those appointments. The mayor proposes them. but the 12 of us, we vote on it and we're the ones who move that forward. A lot of different people give input, give commentary, but the 12 of us as your elected representatives make that decision. So it is not necessary for a board, a board president, a board member to vet each and every appointment to a board. That's just not the way it works. We appreciate their input, but the elected officials are the ones who make that final decision from the mayor's proposals and nominations to the boards. Specifically on this matter, I just want to say this. There's been a lot said about some of the comments in the past. The only problem, I want to say one of the problems I have, is that some assumptions were made. A few years ago, River Edge Park had, I believe it was either two or three sellout performances. One was get the lead out because they sell out every year. The second one, I believe poured on pondering sold out that year. And the third one was not one put on by ECA, but was put on by one of our cultural boards by this gentleman sitting over here, Tony Martinez. And it was . They had a sellout, only one of three that Ridge Park had that year. As a matter of fact, not only did that event sell out, they were turning hundreds of people away just because of safety reasons. So I think some of the comments being made that we need to focus on green, certainly we do, but the assumption that one of our cultural boards or cultural acts could not bring in the green. I think that is a poor assumption and not one that should be made. As evidenced by what they did, a phenomenal day event. Like I said, the River Edge Park gates could not hold all the people. So that is what we look forward to with this board, with new ideas, new commentary, and hopefully new acts that will bring not only diversity, but success. And with success comes green. We don't have ACCA in our arts to make money. We are a governmental nonprofit. We're not in this to make money. We're in this to give back to the community. And that's what I hope and I expect this new board to do. And I will be voting in favor.

Are there questions or discussion? Hearing none, I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Barrero?

Yes.

Garza? Yes. Nunez?

Yes.

Franco? No. Seville?

No.

Benuelos?

Yes.

Smith? Pass. Bogg?

Yes.

Begg? No. Larson? Yes. White?

Yes.

Smith?

Present.

Seven yes, three no. One recusal, one present.

Motion carries. I'll go ahead.

The present counts with the yeses.

Eight yes, three no, one recusal.

Okay. Motion carries. This resolution is adopted. Diane Lance, Christopher Childress, Nastasha Prunty, Juan Sanfuentes, Gina Moger, Jonathan Hilton here today. Please stand and be recognized by the community. Okay, and then if we could take a quick photograph and then we'll move to the rest of the public comment and the rest of the agenda. I'll ask first the Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board to come forward.

Okay, everybody's got a certificate here? No, I'm gonna give it to Matt. Perfect.

Get your certificate from Tony. Members from the Aurora Civic Center.

All right, yeah, right here. Count to three. One, two, three. Keep smiling. Give him a round of applause.

Okay, just to wrap up on that, definitely want to take Alderman Seville's suggestion about how to add more diversity to all the entertainment in our events as well as special events. We did just meet at Alderman Benuelos' request with a number of downtown organizations to start to put together a Dia de los Muertos event that we're scheduling for the week of October 24th to November 1st, which is happening without ACCA, though they were at the table and will be hosting their own scream, I think, is their show. It was an effort to pull everybody together and make sure that Aurora has the biggest Dia de los Muertos in the region and start to develop a name for ourselves, fill our streets, and support our businesses. Next, I'll ask the clerk to move to public comment. Do we have any members of the public wish to offer public comment?

We do, Mr. Mayor.

And will you please read the rules of public comment, Madam Clerk?

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.

Madam Clerk, will you please read the name of the first person who will start for public comment?

Rick Lawrence.

Is Rick Lawrence here? I don't see him. OK, McLaurence is not here.

Next speaker is Cassandra Echevarria.

Welcome, Cassandra. You have three minutes beginning now.

Hello. At the last meeting, I spoke out against comments that many residents experience as racist and dismissive. Since then, something powerful has happened. People who pay taxes, raise families, own businesses, and call the city home finally felt empowered to say, my voice matters too. I was recently told that because someone understands racism, they can decide who else cannot be racist. To me, Juneteenth teaches us that freedom delayed is freedom denied. It teaches us that when one group is denied dignity, all of us have responsibility to speak up. It is not a lesson in division. It should be a lesson in solidarity. I clapped so hard when a brave woman stood up here and said, if we're going to save birds, we're going to save people. Well, if we're going to raise a flag to celebrate shackles being removed, then we should fight for all shackles to be removed. Before I share a story, I want to be clear. As a Latina, I will always stand with the black community in the ongoing fight for equality and justice. To me, justice is not a limited resource. Dignity is not a limited resource, and human rights are not a limited resource. In my story, my friend's name will be Natalie. Natalie is a young mother of two. She came here legally and was following the law when one day she was taken at gunpoint in front of her home, traumatizing her children forever. She shared a heartbreaking reality that I have now heard from countless others in the last eight months. The only time she saw the sun was during transfers between facilities, and that's if she wasn't blindfolded or had something covering her head. She heard cries for help from elderly people, men, women, and even infants. When I met her, I could still see the fresh wounds on her arms, wrists, and ankles from being kept in shackles. And so these are the stories that fill my vessel. These are the stories that remind me that silence can cause harm and will cause death. Silence and complicity with racism and corruption is how we end up with the Donald Trumps in our country, and we do not want that for Aurora. Let's remember, a stronger city is built when we listen to one another, confront prejudice wherever it exists, and ensure that every person who calls this city home knows they belong and are safe. Please don't forget this when it's time to vote, whether it's a vote that officials make or a vote that you make yourself at the ballot. And as for myself, the only time I will ever be dialed down and with my body is being dialed down six feet in the ground. Thank you.

Thank you.

Cassandra?

I ask the clerk to please read the name of the next person, which is not for public comment.

Matt Orr.

It's been a while. Welcome, Mr. Orr. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you. I came up here tonight specifically to talk about a few different petitions that you may have seen on Facebook that have been going around. Two are directly linked to the alderman at large and the mayor as far as a recall petition. to get placed on the ballot in November, which would then be placed on the ballot if approved in November, placed on the ballot in April. The other one that we may have seen going around is one converting the city council from a strong mayor to a... city manager-led style of government. I'm here to say that both of these petitions carry serious consequences. We need to think deeply about what we do as residents and as citizens when we either approve these or we say no at the ballot box. I remember back in 2017, 2018, when Richard Irvin stood up here and proclaimed how much money we were gonna save if we got rid of the Aurora Election Commission. We would save $600,000 a year. How things would be faster, election results would come out sooner, a lot of the streamlining would happen. We didn't see it. What we saw were, Numerous times where, you know, people are put up here for different, you know, situations, you know, whether it be a challenge to petitions, you know, Alderman at large, Ron Warman, basically admitting that he only lived in Aurora 40% of the time at an apartment while he spent the rest of his time in Oswego at his main residence. We put, instead of having election judges that are certified and are put into that position by a King County judge, we led that and we put it into the mayor's hands. Understanding that, I mean, look at it. It's very difficult to break down when you just transfer over power for a certain situation like that, how it can be construed. Now we're put into the possibilities here where we could be a different form of government. These are going to have long-lasting effects that aren't just going to be seen in the immediate, but decades down the line. We need to really think hard about what we do on these petitions. Have I figured out where I'm going to lie on either one of them? I don't know. I want to hear the facts brought forth by all parties before I make my decision. I hope you guys do as well. Thank you. I yield the rest of my time.

Thank you, Mr. Orr. I'll ask the clerk to please read the name of the next person wish to offer public comment.

Ray Hall.

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

Good evening. First of all, I want to thank the council for your vote on the appointments to ACCA. As much as the Mayor and his staff would want to say that the appointments to the ACCA Board make it the most diverse Board ever, I disagree. I disagree that one Latino and two African Americans does not diversify a Board of nine people. The City Council looks more diverse. This is what diversity looks like, is what you guys are. up there and there is nothing that those three individuals, uh, can do or say that will bind the other, uh, six members of, of that, uh, of that board. My question is, where is Aurora going to go from here? I, I, you know, I hear some nice things and Dan, I appreciate what you say about living here, but why is it that African Americans, uh, have to have every event that we have take place at MLK park? or Wilbur Walters Park? Why is it that the Indian population have to have their Diwali celebration at West Ridge Mall? Why can't they come downtown? Why do my wife and I have to go to the Netherlander in Chicago to see plays like MJ or the Motown story? Why is it that Naperville has a soul festival and a gospel festival?

Naperville, not Aurora.

Why do we go to the Rialto in Joliet to see George Lopez and Sinbad comedians? The Paramount can do that. The Rialto is larger than that. Why does homogeneous communities like St. Charles have diverse entertainment that my wife and I go up to the Arcata to see the average white man? Blue Eye Soul Brothers, in case you didn't know who they were, very popular. News flash to you. Cedric the Entertainer is not funny. So why would my nephew, who was a member of the Heritage Board, go to Naperville to have a gospel concert at the Bell Tower, the Bell Tower Park across from the high school? When he was raised here, born and raised here, educated at Metea Valley, we need to do better. I'm going to share this with you. According to Township Supervisor Bill Catchings, in a personal conversation, he told me that when he was a mayoral assistant under Dave Stover, that Dave Stover gave the special events in the city of Aurora, and one of your appointees was the head of that board at that time, that there was an instruction and mandate from Dave Stover that there were not to be any events in the CBD that would draw large crowds of African-Americans in the downtown. So now it all makes sense to me on why we have to do that. Aurora, we have to do better and we can do better. And thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hall. I'll ask the clerk to please read the name of the next person we'll show off for public comment.

The final speaker is Mercy Galicia.

Hello.

Welcome, Mercy. You have three minutes beginning now.

Thank you. I'm Mercy Galicia, and I'm with the Illinois Tejano Organization. Thank you, Mayor Lash and City Council meeting. I just want to, again, invite everyone to come to our festival that is taking place this Saturday, June 26th at Weiler Park. Our event will be held from noon until 10 p.m. If you'd like to join us, it's a fundraiser. We will be hosting three bands, three local bands and one headliner from Texas. We really hope that you will come and enjoy Mexican food, Texas brisket and pulled pork with with some cold drinks, and it'll be fun. Bring your cowboy boots and your cowboy hat and have a good time, OK? Thank you again. Have a nice evening. Thank you, Ms. Galicia.

OK, if there's no more members of the public wishing to offer public comment, we'll move to the consent agenda, directed consent agenda. I'll ask clerk to please read both agendas in full.

260303, a resolution authorizing the execution of an airport maintenance operations agreement with Airfield Maintenance Services for five years with two automatic one-year renewals in the initial amount of $461,500. 260328, a resolution to award Hazel CSO Sewer Separation sanitary extension, and water main improvements project located in Ward 4 to performance construction and engineering in the bid amount of $4,618,028. 260337, a resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to execute a construction phase engineering agreement in the not to exceed amount of $127,800 with Crawford, Murphy, and Tilley. This resolution will also authorize an agency agreement with the state of Illinois for the replace airfield signage, wind cones, runway 15 and 27 runway and identifier lights. an airport rotating beacon, construct runway guard lights at runway 1533 under project ARR5201 located at the Aurora Municipal Airport. 260344, a resolution to award the Richard Street, Robert Street, North Russell Avenue water main improvements project located in Ward 6 to Girardi Sewer and Water Company in the bid amount of $3,187,318.50. 260349, a resolution authorizing a five-year amendment to the original agreement for electronic citation and administrative hearing adjudication software from Quicket Solutions in Chicago for an amount not to exceed $524,440. 260350, a resolution authorizing an agreement for a five-year integration solution from Quicket Solutions in Chicago to the city's new police records management system for an amount not to exceed $80,203.72. 260352, a resolution authorizing the execution of a service agreement between the City of Aurora and Family Service Association of Elgin in support of the Aurora Police Department Crisis Intervention Unit for the period of July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. 260347, approval of draft closed session meeting minutes. 260376, approval of the minutes of the Tuesday, June 9, 2026 city council meeting. 260381, a resolution accepting the improvements in maintenance security for PAS Plaza 1895 Butterfield Road. 260382, a resolution accepting the improvements and maintenance security for Fox Valley Mall Phase 2 residential, Fox Valley Mall Phase 2 residential, 3995 Fox Valley Center Drive. So moved. Second.

Is there a motion to approve the items both the direct to council consent and consent agenda as read? A motion was made by Alderman Franco, second by Alderman Garza. Are there any questions or discussion or members who would like to remove any of the items added to the consent agenda? Real quick, I want to comment on 260352 with our FSA contract, just to make the council aware. AID lost their funding for the living room project, which is a place where people that are experiencing a mental health crisis can be dropped off by the police or the fire department or who their family members can take there, they lose their funding at the end of June. So we are working pretty hard to come up with a Band-Aid solution because we believe that that's an extensive one-year grant, and we've exhausted reaching out to our state electeds trying to get some help to recover that. It's something that's going to affect our FSA program. We don't have a full solution yet. I know that the chief of staff jumped into action immediately when we found out a couple days ago. So just give the council some awareness of that significant change. Anyway, we have a motion and a second on the consent agendas. Are there any other questions or discussion? Hearing none, I'll ask the clerk to please call the roll.

Guerrero? Yes. Garza? Yes. Maciakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Seville? Yes. Benuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bugg? Yes. Fade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 12 yes, 0 no.

Motion carries. This item is adopted. Both consent agendas are approved. Next, we don't have any unfinished business, new business. Is there a motion to suspend the rules to consider items that are new business? Second. Motion was made by Alderwoman Smith, seconded by Alderman Franco. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Ferreiro? Yes. Garza? Yes. Masiakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Seville? Yes. Benuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Fogg? Yes. Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 12 yes, 0 no.

Motion carries. We'll now entertain new business. I'll ask clerk to please read the first agenda item under new business.

260388, a resolution authorizing the divestment and sale of city-owned properties located at 438 North Avenue in Aurora.

Is there a motion to approve this resolution? Motion was made by Alderwoman Garson. Who was the second? Alderwoman Smith. Are there any questions or discussions? Or do you want to get a short presentation from? Corporate Council. Sure.

Assistant Corporation Council, Patrick Collins. It seems about four scores, seven years ago, in two fortnights, we started this divestment process. We're bringing forth 438 North Avenue. We've gone back and forth with the buyer. The price is $25,000, all cash developed into a single-family home. Property will go back on the tax rolls. The city will no longer have to maintain it. In the attachments, there's a draft contract, the property map as requested, and a survey. If there's anything else, happy to answer any questions.

Alderman Seville?

Yes.

How did the city acquire this property? Excuse me.

As with any of them, I'm tasked with getting rid of them.

I'm just looking for a little history.

The most history I have would be in the map section that they have in there. But other than that, the... Not specifically for this property, but in general, we have gotten them. They've either been abandoned properties, foreclosed properties, burned down properties, condemned properties that the city has then either maintained or taken care of the property. It costs us approximately $700 to $1,000 per property that we own to maintain throughout the cutting season. So property standards is always happy when we get one off their list. It comes off of our insurance as well.

If you need more history, you could probably ask John Curley and get you some history.

Okay. Any other questions or discussions on this agenda item? Hearing none, I'll ask clerk, please call the roll. Barrero? Yes.

Garza? Yes. Maciakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Seville? Yes. Banuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Fogg? Yes. Spade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 12 yes, 0 no.

Motion carries. This resolution is adopted. Thank you, Patrick. I'll ask clerk to please read the next item under new business.

26 0 3 8 9 an ordinance proposing a new SSA 1 Aurora downtown district and calling for a public hearing thereon Is there a motion to approve this resolution motion made by Alderman Smith second by Alderman Franco?

Are you the one presenting on this as well? This is incorporation council Patrick Collins at your service you you want to give the council a brief summary

Yes. Just very briefly on this, this ordinance to approve the public hearing for August 25th, 2026 here at six o'clock in the chamber to establish the new SSA one Aurora downtown district. Uh, the current SSA that is in effect, um, ends at the end of this year and iterations of that SSA for the downtown have been in effect since 1992. Uh, this new SSA will be for approximately eight years. It'll be $1 and 10 cents per $1 of valuation. which will foster the vibrant downtown, promoting growth, stability, and long-term success for the local businesses.

Are there any questions or discussions on this agenda item?

Alderman Nunez? Appreciate you including the fourth word in this.

Happy to help. Thank you.

Okay, and then the next steps from here, Patrick, once it goes through the hearing process, what are the next steps? I know that there has to be an actual vote.

Yes, it will come back to city council. There's a long process in order to get an SSA involved. It's outlined in the legislature. Exhibits, yeah. Yes. We are working with outside council on that to make sure that we do that. The current one, since it ends at the end of the year, we want to make sure that we get everything done in the appropriate amount of time.

Thank you. If there's no further question, Alderman Barrow, ready to vote? May I ask a question?

Alderman White. So looking at this map, is this the, has the map, has the size of the downtown district expanded, or has it always been this size? No, it's slightly expanded.

There's additional properties that have been in there. Single family properties cannot be included in the SSA. It's for the downtown commercial properties and businesses, but this isn't expanded.

Got it. So how was it determined where the lines would be drawn?

Pretty much just to give a little history, we had some downtown listening sessions when I first took office. A lot of the downtown SSA One members first wanted to separate from the alliance and second wanted to expand their boundaries. And it's because there's been an addition of new commercial space south of the downtown area, and I believe we go a little bit east and a little bit west, where businesses expressed an interest in being included in that SSA-1 and then also wanting to be more included in sort of our downtown area. ADD, our new, for our downtown district. Activities, First Fridays, et cetera. So they're going to be contributing slightly more in taxes, and then they'll be able to participate with voting rights and get listed on the map when they have ADD events.

Okay, thank you. The core original has not changed since 1994, so this is expanding it as the downtown core has expanded as well.

Any other questions or discussion? As clerk, please call the roll.

Barrero? Yes. Garza? Yes. Masiakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Seville? Yes. Benuevos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bugg?

Yes.

Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 12 yes, 0 no.

Motion carries. This resolution is adopted. There are no reports. Bills? You want to pay the bills? We do have to pay the bills. I'll just read agenda item 260393, the bill summary of large bill list. Is there a motion to approve and pay the bills as presented? Motion was made by Alderman Smith, seconded by Alderman Seville. Are there any questions or discussions on the bills? Clerk, please call the roll.

Guerrero? Yes. Garza? Yes. Masiakos? Yes. Nunez? Yes. Franco? Yes. Seville? Yes. Benuelos? Yes. Smith? Yes. Bugg? Yes. Bade? Yes. Larson? Yes. White? Yes. 12 yes, 0 no.

There's no need for a closed session. There being no for the business, come before the council. Is there a motion to adjourn this meeting? Alderman Franco?

Going back to the SSA public hearing, when will that take place?

Patrick, are you still here? I think he...

Is that on here?

When will the public hearing be? I know you read it in your comments.

August 25, 2026, 6 o'clock here in chambers. OK. I didn't hear that. Thank you. Appreciate it. OK. OK.

There was a- Mr. Mayor?

Alderwoman Bate.

Sorry. Sorry. You can finish the statement, and then I can make a quick statement.

Oh, no. I was going to call the vote for adjournment. Why don't you go ahead with your question?

I just wanted to say thanks to you for bringing my concerns to the state legislature, again, for the data centers.

Well, they're the concerns of all of us. But yes, you've been the loudest, and I let them know that you'd be joining me next time we had to testify.

Absolutely.

And if that doesn't work, we'll take some of the residents down.

OK. All right.

There's been a motion and a second to adjourn. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. This meeting is adjourned at 7.33 PM.