Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Yorkville delays water rate hikes 2 more months; Lake Michigan project back to original $300M estimate

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Yorkville delays water rate hikes 2 more months; Lake Michigan project back to original $300M estimate · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Yorkville delays water rate hikes two more months. Lake Michigan project back
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  to original three hundred million dollars estimate. This
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  article is being read by an automated voice, brought to you by
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  Everlet. The city of Yorkville is pushing back water
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  rate hikes after the final bid for the Lake Michigan Water Project
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  came in under original estimates. The city said the good news is
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  being able to delay the rates hikes for another two months while
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  the city considers potentially altering the future increases. With concerns over rising
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  construction costs avoided, The
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  city may decrease the water rate hikes if alterations are favored. This
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  is the third time the City Council has agreed to delay the
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  next round of rate hikes over a cumulative six-month period. This will
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  hold rates flat, Mayor John Purcell said. There's not been a rate
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  increase in about a year and a half now. We will discuss
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  this again in a couple months. The city first approved 20 annual
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  water rate increases over five consecutive years in June 2025. Over that
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  period, average residential water bills are expected to double to help cover
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  the project’s costs The city is expecting the final tab to be
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  around 224.4 million.
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  While the joint Lake Michigan Water Project between Yorkville, Azwego, and Montgomery
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  through the DuPage Water Commission, was originally estimated to cost around 300
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  million. Estimates ballooned to around 427 million in July 2025
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  after the first bids of the project came in way over projections.
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  The construction bids on the subsequent legs of
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  the project’s came in much lower, enabling the DuPage Water Commission to
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  revise the total project costs to 30.6 million. Yorkville is responsible
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  for 40.22 of the construction costs or 120.9 million dollars. City
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  Administrator Bart Olson said the bidding process was an incredible effort by
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  The DuPage Water Commission and thanked the group for working closely with
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  the city’s After a nine-month delay, the city successfully closed on its
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  170 million water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan from the U.S.
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  Environmental Protection Agency. It carries an interest rate of 5.24. The city
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  is covering the remainder of the project's costs through the city's bond
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  issuance and loan proceeds. Together, the favorable construction bidding results and successful
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  WIFIA closing provide greater certainty regarding the city's anticipated project costs and
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  long-term financing requirements. Rob Frederickson, the city's finance director, said in City
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  Documents. Fredericks said this enables city staff to reassess the water rate,
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  scheduled increases, and evaluate potential adjustments. The city is required by state
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  law to maintain water fund revenues at least 1.25 times the city's
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  annual debt service for the project. According to city staff, a revised
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  water rate plan may be presented to city council in November or
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  early December. Frederickson said, Any alterations to the water rate plan must
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  maintain the financial stability of the water fund and satisfy applicable debt
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  service coverage requirements. The Lakechigan Water Sourcing Project was deemed necessary because
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  of current unsustainable usage of the region's underground aquifer, primarily driven by
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  a population increase. The vast majority of the construction still needs to
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  be completed. Potential construction issues could drive the project's total costs higher.