Aurora City Council passes resolutions to continue valued partnership with YMCA

By: 
Steve Chapman

City to hold public meeting to discuss possibility of residential chickens and pigs in Aurora proper
The Aurora City Council passed four resolutions authorizing agreements between the city and the Ozarks Regional YMCA during their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The resolutions authorized City Manager Jon Holmes to execute agreements with the YMCA to execute agreements for an adult softball program, adult and youth basketball programs, and to provide a soccer/flag football program.
Prior to the discussion and voting on the resolutions, Holmes spoke with the council about why it was better for the city to continue partnering with the YMCA to provide the programs instead of the city doing it themselves. Holmes said taking on that task would impose a lot of extra duties on city employees who already have a lot to do.
“The YMCA provides all the equipment and that sort of thing,” he said. “They work with the … as far as the shirts and the jerseys and all that stuff, they do the signup for all of that. We would need to provide all of that as far as equipment; balls, bats to make sure that there was adequate equipment.
Holmes also stated the city might have to hire on extra people to perform duties already handled by the YMCA.
“They have coordinators already on staff to make sure that they have people lined up for umpires, referees for games, things like that,” he said. “That’s something that we don’t have to do; they currently do all that. So, if we were to take that on, we would have to have coordinators to do all that, to see through all of that.”
Holmes also said the city saves money by letting the YMCA handle the programs.
All four resolutions passed unanimously.
Other business…
In other business, Christine Forrester, of Mercy Hospital in Aurora, asked the council to waive the fee for the Mercy 5K, which took place on Saturday, Oct. 19. The council approved the request.
Holmes also announced that the city is going to hold a public meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. in the Aurora City Council Chambers at City Hall to discuss possible changes in the city ordinances concerning chickens in residential areas, as well as possible changes to the ordinances that could allow non-traditional domesticated animals, such as miniature pigs and miniature goats in the city’s residential areas. The meeting will be a “listening only” meeting, and no action will be taken to change the city’s ordinances at that time. All residents interested in the issue are encouraged to attend the meeting.
 

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