The Aurora City Council approved street improvement districts for several planned projects at its Feb. 13 meeting, the first step in a procedure required to both define the boundaries of the projects and also to authorize bonds to be issued to fund infrastructure work.
Council members faced a full agenda at the Feb. 13 regular meeting, with several of those items focused on resolutions and ordinances involving the Mission Critical Subdivision, Grant Street, 1st Street, the Northridge Subdivision and Matson Addition.
Andy Forney, with D.A. Davidson & Co., explained the steps being taken at this time.
“The reason for the number of ordinances and resolutions is because each one individually specifies the boundaries and defines the boundaries and limits, which are substantially similar,” he said, noting that the process also confirmed the city’s commitment to fund the projects.
Mayor Marlin Seeman then briefly described each of the ordinances, with the only change being a brief reference to the specific projects. Public hearings for each of the projects will be required before any work can begin, with all of those public hearings scheduled for the March 12 council meeting, beginning at 7:35 p.m.
Though it was not listed on the agenda, Seeman recognized Cami Knust and other members of a committee working on possible construction of an inclusive playground. Knust explained that inclusive playgrounds are accessible to all children, including kids with disabilities. She noted that the committee is currently trying to find a location to build the playground and is looking at various properties, including one on the north side of the Aurorans-4-Diamond Sports Complex just west of Highway 14.
The council also set the water rates for 2024-28. Public Works Director Adam Darbro noted that a water rate study is conducted every year, with the rate for the first 3,000 gallons averaging $18.84 per month. The new rate for 2024 approved by the council will average approximately $15 per month, which he noted is $3.84 lower than the current monthly average.
Sanitation rates for 2024 were also approved.
In other action, the council:
* heard a report from NPPD executive Craig Vincent regarding the company’s relationship with the City of Aurora, which he said dates back to the 1940s;
* approved a certificate of substantial completion for the 2023 channel bank stabilization project along Poco Creek;
* approved a $101,600 pay application by Olsson to Kokes Construction, LLC for work on the channel bank stabilization project.
