Police vehicles, sewer vacuum among recent Aurora purchases
More than $900,000 worth of vehicles and equipment, including a sewer vacuum machine for the service department, will be purchased by the city after Council’s approval Feb. 13.
The most expensive purchase will be $532,437 for a GapVax jet vacuum machine from MTech Co. to replace a 2007 vactor truck. Service Director Harry Stark said MTech offers state term pricing and the machine meets the city’s requirements.
Meanwhile, Council is considering the purchase of a 2023 Horton ambulance on a Ford F-550 chassis for $315,034 – $300,135 at state ambulance pricing and $14,899 for installed equipment not covered in the vehicle quote.
According to Fire Chief Matt McBirney, building and delivery of the vehicle is estimated to take two years.
Three Chevrolet Tahoes for the police department will be purchased from Ganley Chevrolet for $110,935 after trade-in of three older cruisers. Equipment and installation will be provided by Hall Public Safety Upfitters for $45,874.
Four vehicles for the service and parks/rec departments also will be purchased. Included are a 2023 Chevy Equinox for $28,755, a 2022 Chevy Silverado 2500HD for $59,349 and a 2023 Chevy 3500HD for $57,736, all from Ganley of Aurora, and a 2022 Ford F-250 for $47,540 from Liberty Ford.
The Silverado 2500HD will replace a Ford F-600 that Council had previously OK’d to buy, but the latter vehicle is not available. A 1997 Ford F-350 will be traded in for the Chevy 3500HD, while the Ford F-250 will replace a 2008 Ford F-350.
A Mahindra 2660 utility tractor will be purchased for the parks/rec department from Marshall Power Equipment for $47,468. It will replace a 2000 tractor that will be transferred to the service department.
Other city business
Council approved a moratorium not to exceed 12 months on the submission of applications and issuance of permits for vape, e-cigarette, smoke and tobacco shops and those that sell any product containing CBD, cannabidiol oils and edibles.
Compensation for Fire Chief Matthew McBirney, assistant planning-zoning-building director Meredith Davis, community events coordinator Katherine Nahra and planning-zoning-building administrative assistant Christine Gruttadauria was revised.
Council confirmed McBirney as fire chief, while Nahra’s position was elevated from part-time to full-time and a job description was OK’d. Salary ranges for certain city employees also were approved.
Christina Nelson was OK’d as a part-time sports monitor, Anthony Bower as a police officer and Gregory Winland as a service technician.
A $26,000 contract was awarded to American Fireworks for the July 4 fireworks display, and the city’s Microsoft 365 annual subscription was OK’d at a cost not to exceed $30,240.
Also awarded was a contract with the John Kelleher Co. LLC to perform backflow prevention work in Hawthorn Estates. Cost will not exceed $350,000, based on participation from residents. An additional $8,864 payment was OK’d for Town Hall window replacements.
A handful of legislation went to its next reading, including applying for a Clean Ohio Trail Fund grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to build a section of trail along the First Energy right-of-way between Chamberlain Road in Mantua Township and Route 82 in Aurora.
The dedication of roads and water/sanitary sewer lines in the right-of-way on Beljon and Scarlett lanes and William Court in Phases 2-3 of the Preserve at Beljon Farms was moved to its next reading.
Council also pushed to another reading authorization for the following banks to be recipients of city deposits from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2027: BMO Harris, Fifth Third, First National of Pennsylvania, Huntington, JP Morgan Chase, TriState Capital, U.S. and Westfield.
A final measure heading for the next meeting’s agenda is a comparable use conditional zoning certificate for a Goddard School at the Greens of Aurora on the east side of North Chillicothe Road across from Barrington Town Center.
Action was postponed on an amendment to the codified ordinances dealing with parking on residential lots. Law Director Dean DePiero said he is “still working out issues.” The legislation was introduced after a resident brought concerns to city officials.
Contact the newspaper at auroraadvocate@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: New police vehicles, sewer vacuum among purchases in Aurora
