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Aurora considers giving $500,000 to VNA in support of newly-opened clinic
The city of Aurora is considering giving VNA Health Care $500,000 in support of its newly-opened clinic at the Bloomhaven campus on Aurora's near East Side.
The current proposal, which is set to go before the Aurora City Council for final approval on Tuesday, would split the payment in half, distributing $250,000 this year and $250,000 next year. This year's amount is set to be paid from city interest earnings, and the funding source for next year's payment will be decided during the 2026 budget process, according to Aurora Chief Financial Officer Chris Minick.
The funds are going to support the opening of VNA's new Primary Care Center at 323 Weston Ave., which offers primary care and pediatrics as well as urgent care, mental health care, outpatient physical therapy, podiatry, OB/GYN, vaccines, lab testing, nutrition counseling and more, with all services offered in both English and Spanish.
The organization invested around $8 million in the clinic, and financial planning for the project included the $500,000 pledged by the city, according to a city staff report about the project included with a recent committee meeting agenda. Staff said in the report that the funds were pledged because of the 'nature and extent of the medical services provided by VNA to the Aurora population in general and specifically to the neighborhood surrounding the development.'
Although the $500,000 was pledged by city administration last July and formally recognized through a letter signed by both former Mayor Richard Irvin and VNA CEO Linnea Windel, the agreement never went before the Aurora City Council for approval, nor was it included in the 2025 budget.
VNA's agreement with Aurora was that, once the clinic was fully built-out and received a Certificate of Occupancy, the city would pay out the full $500,000, according to the signed letter. So, after the certificate was issued in April, VNA came to the city to ask for the funds.
The proposal was then set to go through the process of getting Aurora City Council approval, which starts at one of the City Council's committees.
But when Mayor John Laesch's incoming administration saw the item, which was planned to go before the Finance Committee on May 15, just two days after Laesch was inaugurated, they were confused about why it hadn't previously gone before City Council for approval, and they requested the item be held so more research could be done.
That's what Aurora Chief of Staff Shannon Cameron told the Finance Committee on May 29, the first time the proposed $500,000 payment to VNA was publicly discussed by members of the Aurora City Council.
An item like this one most likely should have gone before the Aurora City Council for approval when the agreement was made, she said at the time, and it seems like it was simply an oversight of the previous administration.
In addition to the signed letter, there were also many emails from city officials pledging the funds to VNA, according to Cameron.
'While it is a bit of a legal gray area, whether we actually owe the funds, we are in support of the VNA and the work it does,' she said. 'We want to make good on this promise.'
At various Aurora City Council committee meetings, Minick has said the funds were not included in the 2025 budget because of the timing of the agreement.
The proposed payment was again held at the May 29 Finance Committee meeting after several aldermen questioned and discussed how this happened.
Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward, said it is a 'disservice to our citizens' when things come before the Aurora City Council for ratification after they've already happened. When this has happened in the past, departments were told this is 'not how we do business in the city of Aurora,' he said.
Minick agreed with Bugg and said ratifications will be held 'to an absolute minimum' and be used only for emergencies. This is an early cautionary tale to the new administration, Cameron said, to make sure everything goes through the proper process.
The item came back before the Finance Committee on June 12, this time with a proposed change by Minick: pay out half now and then half next year. VNA tentatively agreed to this change, according to the staff report.
Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, who chairs the Finance Committee, said Minick's proposal was 'very equitable.'
Aldermen on the Finance Committee recommended for approval the amended proposal, with Bugg voting against.
The Committee of the Whole, which sets the agenda of the upcoming Aurora City Council meeting, reviewed the proposal at its meeting Tuesday and decided to place the item on the 'unfinished business' portion of the June 24 Aurora City Council meeting agenda. That means the proposal will be discussed and voted on separately from other items, which is typically done if an item is particularly important or controversial.
