Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board Meeting September 17, 2015

Board members present: McGowan, Santos, Shore, Steele and President Spyropoulos
Board members absent: Alvarez, Avila and Bradford

The minutes of the previous Board meeting were approved.

The remainder of the meeting was spent in dealing with contract bids and approving purchase orders. Most of the items were on the consent agenda. However, a few were singled out for discussion.

15-1059 was a request for policy direction for continued District employee participation in the Working in the Schools Program.  This is a volunter program which has been very successful.  Commissioners applauded the program and enthusiastically endorsed continuing participation by the MWRD. Commissioner Steele emphasized that this is voluntary, and that employees give their time during their lunch hours. It serves only Chicago Public Schools.

Commissioner Shore raised the issue of the unreported spillage that received publicity through the BGA investigative report. Her question, "Did Reliable [the company leasing the MWRD property] notify staff when the citation was issued?" They did not. It was suggested that the MWRD should notify all tenants that they are expected to notify staff when cited for a violation.  Commissioner Shore asked that a letter be sent to all tenants reminding them of this obligation. So ordered.

Executive Director David St. Pierre was asked about entering into an agreement with Gartner, Inc. for technology consulting services. He said that Cook County has tapped into an existing contract originally put out to bid by the state of Kansas. This gives the staff a brain IT trust to go to when starting a new project. It helps keep staff current and provides access to the database of Garnter.

A grant to the Village of Wilmette for $130,000 for "green alleys" was questioned.  This is for a project whose purpose is to absorb rainwater. Wilmette will pay $600,000; the MWRD is contributing $130,000.

Commissioner Shore announced that there would be a WEFTEC conference  later this month and that a MWRD team will be participating.

President Spyropoulos called for a vote on the consent agenda.  Five commissioners present voted aye.  Motion was passed.

Meeting was adjourned at 11:05 am.

Submitted by Georgia Gebhardt

Cook County Board Meeting and Committee Meetings September 9, 2015

The Committee meetings for Wednesday, September 9 were as follows: Labor Committee, Rules Committee, Finance Committee, Zoning and Building Committee, and Criminal Justice Committee.  

Criminal Justice Committee: 

Proposed Ordinance 15-4648 sponsored by Commissioner Boykin, this ordinance is to appoint a Cook County Gun Violence Czar to lead a Cook County Gun Violence Task Force.  The Task Force, made up of representatives from other County officials, such as the Chief Judge and Sheriff, along with Commissioner Boykin and another representative appointed by President Preckwinkle, would be charged with holding hearings and gathering information in order to submit recommendations to the Board within 6 months. Boykin withdrew this ordinance and plans to work on it further with the support of other commissioners.

There were two speakers who spoke in favor of this ordinance. Commissioner Boykin reiterated the fact that there is too much violence. He stated that 80% of African Americans are victims of gun violence even though they make up 25% of the population.  He also stated that there could be an allocation in the budget of $200,000 to finance the Task Force.

There was much discussion as most of the Commissioners had reservations concerning this ordinance.  Many questioned whether the money could be found within this fiscal year.  In addition, they felt that more community support, education, parental support and jobs are needed to control violence. Zelda Whittler, Undersheriff, was asked to comment. She stated that they are working with many law enforcement agencies including law officials from the city and suburban areas to address this issue. She stated the Sheriff would participate in the Task Force.

Proposed Resolution 15-4728, sponsored by Commissioner Boykin, calling upon the Justice Advisory Council and the Department of Procurement to report to the Cook County Board of Commissioner on the scoring criteria for the Justice Advisory Council’s Violence Prevention Grant Awards and the role played by community violence levels in determining violence prevention grant recipients. Resolution was approved.

Please note all reports referred to are available on the Cook County web site. Go to http://cook-county.legistar.com and click on “meeting details”.

General Meeting:

Public Testimony: Reference to item 155308 and 15-5311 (proposed ordinance on Cook County Service Occupation Tax). Speakers stated they were opposed to a tax increase stating that $10 an hour is too little to live on making this tax increase difficult for them. They want a fair wage of $15 an hour.

The following were items of interest:

15-5141, proposed by Commissioner Boykin, calls upon the Cook County Medical Examiner to modify its reporting of Gunshot homicides to include specific classifications of victims as to Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.  In other words not just list them as Spanish but their origin. This was withdrawn because the medical examiner already has the software to do this.

15-5308 and 15-3011, proposed by Commissioners Fritchey, Boykin, Schneider and Suffredin to roll back the newly approved sales and service tax of 1.75% after 1 year to 1.25% on Jan. 1, 2017, and back to 0.75% on Jan. 1, 2018.  Was referred  to the Finance Committee.

15-5262 presented by John Jay Shannon, MD, Chief Executive Officer. Cook County Health and  Hospitals System (HHS), proposed  HHS preliminary budget for 2016 fiscal year. During the Public Testimony portion of the meeting, there were many speakers, doctors and nurses who spoke in support of retaining the in-services Pediatric Unit at Stroger Hospital.  Dr. Shannon stated that there has been no decision to close the Pediatric In-Services Unit at Stroger, but a consolidation of services, such as combining the Pediatric Emergency Room with the regular emergency room, will happen. He stated that with advancements of care and access to ambulatory care such as “Kid Care,” there are opportunities for patients receiving care closer to home.  Dr. Shannon stated that there is constant review as to whether the services being offered throughout HHS are what are needed or whether other services would better fit the needs of those needing care.

Commissioners Gainer and Sims had concerns about the cancellation this summer of the contract with the current administrator of Medicaid eligibility for HHS.    The current administrator is Illinicare, which has its own managed-care program and which is in competition with HHS and its managed-care program, County Care, for Medicaid recipients.  Dr. Shannon said that while there was no evidence of impropriety on the part of Illinicare, there was concern for the future.  Dr. Shannon said that Illinicare will stay on through early 2016, providing sufficient time to find a replacement and transition smoothly.  This item was referred to the Cook County Board’s HHS Committee.

15-5225,  submitted by Clerk David Orr,  seeking approval to eliminate 74 voting precincts in suburban Cook County, changing the number from 1,673 to 1,599 a reduction of 4%.  The estimated savings in 2016 is $200,000.  This was approved.

Also approved at the Board Meeting were the following items that the Board’s Technology Committee, which met the day before, had voted to recommend to the Board:

15-4067, a contract for $30 million for an Integrated Tax & Mass Appraisal System, to integrate the functions of the Recorder of Deeds, Assessor, Board of Review, Clerk, and Treasurer relating to the property tax system.

15-4318, a $66 million contract for an E-Business Suite platform to allow for process improvements and analytics for finance and human resource functions across the County.

15-4488,  which amends the contract with the existing provider of telephone service at the County Jail to lower the costs for detainees to make calls.

The meeting ended around 3:30

Respectfully submitted

Nancy Marcus and Priscilla Mims.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board Meeting September 3, 2015

The MWRD Board meets twice monthly at 100 East Erie Street. 

President:                       Mariyana Spyropoulos

Vice President:               Barbara J. McGowan

Chairman of Finance:    Frank Avila

Commissioners:             Michael Alverez; Timothy Bradford; Cynthia Santos; Debra Shore; and Kari Steele.

The LWVCC is initiating an MWRD Observer Corp effective with this September 3 meeting to learn more about the effectiveness of the Board’s oversight of the District’s operations and employees.

The morning meeting was run efficiently and the public was made to feel very welcome.  Visitor George Blakemore spoke on several occasions.  Agenda’s were passed out to all interested visitors.  It appeared that the commissioners felt comfortable asking questions of each other and the staff and also commenting to the Executive Director, David St. Pierre who sat in the front of the room with the President and the Secretary to the Board.

Much of the meeting was dedicated to voting on contracts:  new, time extensions, cost increases or overruns.  There were several comments about the number of resolutions both at this meeting and others over the past several months that come before the Board asking for more money. LWVCC will monitor.

League Members Take Note:  the MWRD has purchased 56,000 rain barrels to be given free to interested residents in the metro Chicago area.  The cost:  $3.2 million and the contract ends September 2017.

 

I was surprised to learn of the reach of the MWRD’s operations. It is known for its sanitary and sewage disposal responsibility, but it is also a major property owner, a landlord to many industrial business operations, and a steward of the quite a bit of open space.  It is highly regarded as a role model for good environmental practices.  However, a recent article in the Sun Times noted that a tenant of the District spilled antifreeze on District property without reporting it. Since many of the District’s tenants manufacture or produce toxic by-products, LWVCC will monitor good stewardship issues over the next several months.

Because the District successfully participated in a mandatory test to curtail energy consumption [50.3 megawatts], it will receive quarterly payments in 2015 and 2016 of approximately $1.87 million from EnerNoc, Inc. Since 1997, the District has participated in various curtailment programs and has been compensated a cumulative savings of $8 million.

David St. Pierre asked the Board for authority to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office to expand their Prescription Drug Collection Program [keep drugs from getting in our waterways].

After the Board meeting, a study session was hosted by Commissioner Frank Avila to discuss the District’s practice of using glyphosate herbicides to control weeds. While the practice has been greatly reduced, Mr. Avila is advocating for the complete stoppage of synthetic herbicides and a switch to natural products, processes, and practices. He invited several speakers and there was an excellent discussion over the next hour. This observer does not know if the District uses Round Up which includes glyphosate. Round Up was specifically mentioned by one speaker as being very dangerous because the inert additives react with the glyphosate in a manner that boosts its toxicity.

 

This observer has much to learn about the MWRD board and its operations.  Attending the meeting was definitely worthwhile.

Submitted by Diane Edmundson