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The village board of trustees on Thursday approved a resolution formalizing the purchase offer for the plant. Although the college will gift the plant to the village, Aurora Mayor Jim Orman told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV the village is covering a $10 fee related to the transaction.

The transfer of the water plant must be approved by the state attorney general's office.

After Wells College announced its closure in April 2024, the status of the water plant quickly emerged as one of the village's top priorities. The college operated the plant for 90 years and sold water to the village.

One issue that arose when Aurora and Wells College leaders began discussing the transfer of the plant is the operating expenses. According to Ken Teter, the village engineer, the college "did not track their costs for operating the water plant."

Wells College agreed to allow the village to operate the water plant beginning Oct. 1. Over the last six months, Orman said they learned more about the costs associated with the long-term operation of the facility.

Those findings aided the village in its development of the 2025-26 budget, which includes a $209,500 increase for its water fund. Water rates could nearly triple for customers, including businesses and the village's roughly 300 residents, if the tentative budget is approved.

Among the challenges facing the village is that state funds are not available to cover the plant's operating costs.

"It falls directly on the users of the (water district)," Orman said.

Aurora leaders recently warned state leaders, namely Gov. Kathy Hochul, that the worst-case scenario is the village will be forced to dissolve if it does not receive financial help for the water plant. Taking over the operation of the facility will affect the village's budget, which was $1.1 million in 2024-25. The budget includes the water fund, which was $118,100 for the current year.

An outstanding issue is what the water rates will be for village customers. Trustee John Miller supports a flat rate and potentially raising the access fee. One concern is there are seasonal residents who don't use the water for parts of the year, yet they have hookups for when they need it.

Miller also wants to explore avenues for selling the water, which could bring revenue to the village.

What could ease the water burden for village residents is if the Wells College campus is revived for a new use within the next few years. The college is selling the campus and multiple offers were submitted. The prospective buyers include an alumni group that would reopen the college, a joint venture seeking to establish an Indigenous college and senior housing community on the property, and a Wells alumna who is proposing to open an elite three-year undergraduate liberal arts college and a college for older residents.

Despite the likelihood their water bills will significantly increase, village residents supported the board during a public hearing on the proposed budget at Thursday's meeting.

Karen Hindenlang recalled previous attempts to take over the water plant from Wells College. Until now, Aurora was not successful because the college "pulled the rug out from under the village," she said.

"I feel this board and this staff has kind of inherited a mess," Hindenlang added. "I want to commend you all on the amazing amount of work you've done in the past year."

The village board is expected to vote on the 2025-26 budget at its regular meeting Wednesday. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the firehouse.