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DeKalb considers water rate hike Funds needed for 10-year plan that calls for $13.1M in improvements McDonnell Engineering Co. Most of the cost is for replacing water mains, company representative Randy Patchett said. “Water supply rehabilitation comprises approximately one-half million of those,” Patchett said. “Water treatment improvements is approximately $900,000, water tower recoating is almost 2 million, and the water main removal and replacement program is approximately $9.9 million.”
By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – An increase in city water rates from 4.5 to 8.5 percent could be in store for 2016 and beyond to pay for repairs officials say the water system needs. Officials are considering increasing water rates to fund a 10-year plan that calls for about $13.1 million worth of capital improvements, upon recommendation by Burns &
About 10∏ miles of the city’s 177 miles of water pipe must be replaced soon, according to a study completed by Burns & McDonnell. The study also recommended rehabilitation of DeKalb’s nine water wells, water treatment improvements and repainting three water towers – the fourth was recoated in 2014. DeKalb Interm Public Works Director John Laskowski said many of the recommendations were in line with
what his department had identified as projects. The difference is consistency. “It would be a continuation of work we are already doing,” Laskowski said. “For this year, we’re probably at $1 million already, but two years ago, we didn’t do anything. ... What the study says is we’d like to be consistent, do $1 million a year and make sure the system is maintained properly.” The different rate increase options would fund the proj-
ect while keeping operating reserves at 25 percent of revenue requirements and maintain capital fund balances of $1 million. Burns & McDonnell recommended an option where water rates would rise 4.5 percent a year from 2016 to 2020, and then would go back to a 1.5 percent increase a year, which is typical. Another option calls for
See WATER, page A5
Water rate increase options Increase rates 4.5 percent a year from 2016-20. Increase rates 8.5 percent a year in 2016 and 2017. Increase rates 4 percent a year through 2021. All increase options also would include borrowing plans to pay for water system maintenance.
POPE VISITS CUBA BEFORE U.S. TOUR Francis offers message of change in Cuba By NICOLE WINFIELD and ANDREA RODRIGUEZ The Associated Press
Rhonda Gillespie – rgillespie@shawmedia.com
Rev. Matthew McMorrow, pastor of Christ the Teacher University Parish church, spoke Sunday to parishioners about Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. this week. The church’s Rev. Jeremy Trowbridge (not pictured) will attend events in the Philadelphia leg of the pontiff’s visit. Other leaders in the Diocese of Rockford, of which Christ the Teacher University Parish belongs, also will take part in events related to the pope’s visit, which begins today and goes through Sunday.
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HOLGUIN, Cuba – Pope Francis marked the anniversary Monday of the day he decided as a teenager to become a priest by pressing a subtle message to Cubans at a delicate point in their own history: Overcome ideological preconceptions and be willing to change. Francis traveled to Cuba’s fourth-largest city, Holguin, and celebrated a Mass where Cuban rhythms mixed with church hymns under a scorching tropical sun. Later in the day, he flew to Santiago for an evening visit to the shrine of Cuba’s patron saint, and today, he will arrive in Washington D.C. for the U.S. leg of his visit to the two former Cold Pope Francis War enemies. Singing children and a small crowd waving Cuban and Vatican flags greeted Francis on his arrival, some crying out, “Francis! Holguin is with you!” Holguin’s Plaza of the Revolution was packed with an estimated 150,000 people for the Mass, many dressed in white to protect them from the sun. Security agents didn’t appear to be letting members of the crowd get close to him. On Sunday, an apparent dissident hung on to the popemobile in
Local Catholics look forward to Pope Francis’ U.S. visit By RHONDA GILLESPIE rgillespie@shawmedia.com DeKALB – The visit by Pope Francis to the U.S., which starts today, will mark the third time a papal leader has been to this country in Bob Higdon’s lifetime. Higdon, of Sycamore, was in Des Moines, Iowa, when the late Pope John Paul II visited in 1979. Now, he is among the throng of Catholics who are looking forward to the 78-year-old Pope Francis being here, which many
expect will help demonstrate how much the Catholic church is changing in response to an evolving society. “I’m worried about the state of Christianity, Catholicism in this country,” said Higdon, who attends Christ the Teacher University Parish church. “I think that’s one of the reasons why [Pope Francis] is coming.” Higdon, 73, said he will be waiting to hear the Pope’s thoughts on wealth distribution around the world. Rev. Matthew McMorrow,
pastor of Christ the Teacher University Parish in DeKalb, took time between morning Masses on Sunday to give parishioners an overview of Pope Francis’ visit. He said the pontiff is expected to speak on several topics important to him, including immigration, wealth distribution and the environment. “I think it is a very important visit. It awakens us to the universal church – throughout the whole world – especially with him as the head,” McMorrow said. “It also gives him a chance
to speak directly to the people of America, and to bring forward the things that he’s praying about and wants us to be considering and working on.” McMorrow said Pope Francis is “very worried about how we’re caring for families.” Pope Francis, 78, is popular among millennials, especially with his embrace of social media and response to evolving social issues. The Argentinian-born Jesuit was elected to the papacy
See POPE, page A5
See CUBA, page A5
AP photo
People arrive Monday at the Plaza of the Revolution to attend a Mass to be celebrated by Pope Francis in Holguin, Cuba. Francis is the first pope to visit Holguin, Cuba’s third-largest city.
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