Serving the Polo Area Since 1857
POLO
Tri-County Press April 5, 2018 Volume 159, Number 49 - $1.00
Double Duty
Expect Delays!
Combined Plant Sales
Reid Taylor is competing in both baseball and track and field this spring. B1
Road work has started on Ill. 2 between Oregon and Dixon. B3
The Polo High School FFA and Womens Club have combined their annual plant sales. A8
Council wants tighter rules for delinquent water bills By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com The Polo City Council took the first step Monday evening to tighten up the rules on past due water bills. Aldermen authorized city attorney Tom Suits to draw up a new ordinance governing how delinquent bills and shutoffs are handled. The new rules will be discussed at the at the April 16 meeting.
The Water & Sewer Committee recommended that the council eliminate the hand-delivered pink notices that alert residents who are delinquent that their water service is about to be shut off. The committee also recommended eliminating signed payment agreements with residents for getting their bills caught up. Under the proposed rules, if a delinquent account is shut off and the resident pays after 3 p.m. that day, the water will
not be turned back on until the following day. Under those circumstances, the resident can have the water turned back on the same day if they pay a $75 fee in addition to the amount they are in arrears. Alderman Randy Schoon, who is chairman of the Water & Sewer Committee, said the $75 will help cover the cost of calling in an off-duty city employee to turn the water back on. Shut off penalties will
be eliminated, and deposits will be credited to residents’ accounts. Residents with delinquent accounts will have until the due date of the next month to pay the past due amount. The water will be shut off the following day for accounts not paid by the due date. To have turned back on in those cases, residents will be required to pay the past due balance and the most current bill to bring their accounts up to date.
In another matter, Schoon asked for a status update on the ongoing yard sale being run by Richard Jeter, 901 S. Division Ave. (Ill. 26). “It looks worse than ever,” Schoon said. The council has been fielding complaints for residents about the items displayed in Jeter’s yard, and the police have ticketed him at least three times for related ordinance violations. His most recent city ordinance violation was issued
March 22 for littering, and a court hearing is scheduled for May 16. Suits said he will ask the judge to impose a fine for every day the violations have occurred. He said the police have taken photos of the property daily. Jeter was found guilty of improper use of B2 (business) zoning in December of 2016, and accumulation of litter last November. In both cases, Judge John Redington imposed fines.
Pool may not get new diving board By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com
On The Hunt 15-month-old Harlan Fry, of Polo, surveys the landscape, looking for the next perfect egg that catches his eye. The chilly weather and dusky sky weren’t even a slight deterrent for egg hunters Thursday evening at Polo Rehabilitation & Health Care Center’s annual Easter Egg Hunt. Photo by Zach Arbogast. More photos appear on B2.
The Polo City Pool may not be getting a new diving board after all. Alderman Justin Grobe, who is chairman of the Parks & Recreation Committee, said even a new shorter diving board may not meet state regulations. “It doesn’t look like we’re getting the diving board,” he said. The council voted unanimously March 5 to proceed with plans to get a single diving board in place of the two 50-year-old boards, which the park board voted to take down last October due to safety concerns. Mike Vonderheide, owner and operator of Clearview Pool Company, South Beloit, told the council last November that the old boards were not compatible with the pool’s “hopper” or deep end, making it dangerous for those diving in. Grobe said he recently found out that the shorter board may not be the answer. “An engineer has looked at it and we’re waiting for his report,” he said. In other business, the council agreed to look into granting a request from grocery store owner Tushar Patel, Lanark, for a rebate on sales tax once the Polo store is up and running. Patel recently purchased the Polo Food Center, formerly
Polo Super Valu, building at 205 S. Division Ave. ( Ill. 26) and hopes to have it open in time for Christmas. His request was for a 50 percent rebate of the city’s share of sales tax from his store. Mayor Doug Knapp said he will ask the city’s Tax Increment Funding District experts to put together an estimate of the amount and the length of time for the rebate for the council to consider. Patel said he plans to request a liquor license for the store in the next few months. “We will do that for you for sure,” Knapp said. Patel is the secretary of Mahant Supermarket, Inc., which operates grocery stores in Lanark and Amboy. In February, the council approved making a $70,000 loan, in the form of a self-cancelling note, to Patel to help buy and make improvements to the property. Under the terms, the city will loan Patel the money from its General Fund, with the stipulation that the grocery store opens by Dec. 1 of this year and remains in continuous operation until Dec. 31, 2023. If the store is in continuous operation through Dec. 31, 2021, the city will forgive $35,000 of the loan. The remainder will be forgiven if the business is still operating on Dec. 31, 2023.
Global events mean higher local recycling costs By Vinde Wells vwells@oglecounty news.com Recent global events are likely to mean higher recycling costs for Ogle County. According to Dr. Kate O’Neill of the University of California at Berkeley, China drastically limited all scrap material it will import as of March 1. Up until then, roughly half of all scrap materials produced in the U.S. (paper, metal, and plastics) have ended up in China using return-trip cargo container ships, which had brought goods
to the U.S. “They have decided to drastically cut back in China,”said Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department Stephen Rypkema. “What that means is that to the U.S. and the rest of the world is finding a new outlet.” In the short run recycling will be more expensive and more difficult to get rid of, he said. “In the long run it may mean more processing facilities will be developed in the U.S.,” he said. China had developed the infrastructure for scrap processing and, up until recently,
In This Week’s Edition...
had welcomed U.S. waste scrap for raw materials. Those days have come to an end, according to O’Neill. Due to contamination of scrap, safety concerns, and alternative industries emerging in China, the scrap import ban has been established. Rypkema said Chinese officials have been indicating their plans to cut back on accepting recyclables since last year. He said he does not believe it is a reaction to a plan to impose tariffs recently announced by President Donald Trump.
Church Bells, A5 Classifieds, B5-B8 Entertainment, A6 Marriage Licenses, A4
Rypkema encouraged local residents to put only acceptable recyclable items in the bins provided in various locations around the county. “We want people to be more careful what they put in the recycle bins,” he said. “Our efforts are aimed at trying to educate people about what is recyclable and to encourage them to stick with it.” A renewed effort is needed to not contaminate loads of recyclable material and to put more emphasis on waste reduction. The cost goes up, Rypkema
Library News, A3 Polo Police, A2 Public Voice, A6-7 Property Transfers, B3
Sheriff’s Arrests, B3 Social News, A4 Sports, B1-2 State’s Attorney, B2
said, when non-recyclable garbage is mixed with recyclables. The contents of the recycle bins goes to a processing center where it is sorted, and anything not recyclable goes to a landfill. “It adds to the cost to sort it at the recycling centers and it goes to the landfill anyway,” he said. He said his department pays for the bins to be emptied and for the transportation costs to take recyclables to the processing center, but is not paid for the recyclable materials. The concept of waste reduction plays a large role in economical
recycling. If the waste is not created, then it does not need to be recycled. The OCSWMD encourages residents to avoid plastic water bottles, paper plates, plastic utensils, plastic shopping bags, and Styrofoam coffee cups. Use instead a refillable water bottle and coffee mug, dining ware that can be washed and reused, and reusable shopping bags. Avoid items with excess plastic packaging, and buy products in bulk to reduce overall plastic waste. Turn to A2
Deaths, B4 E. Marie Armbruster, Eugene R. Gann, Mary Ellen Sassaman
Published every Thursday by Ogle County Newspapers, a division of Shaw Media • www.oglecountynews.com