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
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