Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Board Meeting October 1, 2015

Commissioners Present:  President Spyropoulous, Commissioners Shore, Santos, McGowan, Bradford, Steele, Alvarez and Walsh.

Commissioners Absent:  Avila

At the start of the meeting Executive Director David St. Pierre introduced and welcomed Mr. David J. Walsh as new commissioner.  Mr. Walsh was appointed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner on September 25^th to fill the seat vacated when Patrick Thompson resigned in April to become 11^th Ward Alderman in the City of Chicago. Mr. Thompson, a Democrat, was elected in 2012 to a six-year term at the MWRD.   Mr. Walsh is an executive at Mark J. Walsh and Company, a Chicago-based asset management firm. 

Separate from the Board’s Consent Agenda, the Commissioners approved the Board Meeting Calendar for 2016.

The Commissioners had 38 items on the consent agenda falling within the purview of five Board committees. 

Twenty eight of the items rose from the Procurement Committee.  Here is a review of three of those items:

(15-1087) MWRD Board in August approved funding for Northwestern University laboratory study of “Two Mainstream Shortcut Biological Nitrogen Removal Approaches,” in an amount not to exceed $532, 671. The approval contained a clerical error, and the Board amended the order to fix the error at this meeting. The MWRD treats human sewage in the Chicago region, and releases the cleaned effluent into waters that flow into the Mississippi River watershed. Phosphorus and nitrogen in the effluent contribute to the dead zone (hypoxia) in the Gulf of Mexico. Studying ways to limit or remove these nutrients might reduce the MWRD’s costs to meet regulatory requirements.

(15-1115) The MWRD has programs that distribute 55-gallon plastic rainbarrels to residents.

The barrels are designed to catch residential rooftop stormwater and store it for later use on lawns. This slows 55 gallons from entering combined sewers at a rapid rate during storm situations.  

On September 3, 2015, the Commissioners approved a 2-year contract with Enviro World Corporation to furnish and deliver rain barrels to the MWRD. They authorized $2.66 million to purchase 55,500 rain barrels. 

Well, it turns out the contract the Commissioners approved in September was for rain barrels that are a flat grey color.  At this meeting the Board was asked to amend the contract and throw in an additional $3.82 per barrel over the bid price, so residents, who often desire colors compatible with their residences, can buy black, terra cotta, and blue rain barrels, not just grey. That raises the per barrel cost to the MWRD to $51.82.  The item says “The total awarded contract value will remain the same. It is estimated that if there is equal demand for each color, approximately 52,350, rather than 55,000 rain barrels can be purchased with these funds."  The item doesn’t mention if the original bids for the contract all were for grey, or if other bids were higher because they offered the more diverse choice of colors from the start. The Commissioners did not ask at the meeting.

(15-1085) The MWRD owns 14,000 acres in Fulton County, Il.  It is preparing to conduct an agricultural fertilizer runoff monitoring program on portions of that land. Commissioners previously granted $1.4 million dollars to this project during 2015. At this meeting, they were asked to allocate an additional $100,000, for a total investment this year of $1.5 million. Commissioner Shore had earmarked this consent item for discussion. Other Commissioners asked why these new dollars couldn’t be folded into the 2016 budget for this project, since the contract year ends in December 2015.

The MWRD’s director of Monitoring and Research, Dr. Thomas Granato, said that the funds were needed to prepare cover crops for the land at the end of the growing season.  He said the challenge was to understand the scale of agricultural nutrient loss “on a watershed basis.”  He said the research is “a big service to the State.” So far the MWRD has purchased a crop interseeder machine, which allows the cover crop to be sown between rows before the main crop (corn or soybeans) has been harvested.  Cover crops scavenge surplus nutrients that might otherwise be released into the water after harvest. Although the equipment is purchased, there are additional costs for staff and materials.  At the questioning of Commissioners, Dr. Granto said this project will go on for 3 to 5 years, as the study needs to be done under a variety of conditions. Thus, it will require new funding every year.

He said it may be more economical for MWRD rate payers to research ways to limit non-point agricultural discharges than to spend significantly more to reduce nutrients from the County’s own sewage effluent discharges, and added that this runoff study gives the District “an opportunity to be a leader in finding ways to limit nutrient runoff from agricultural lands.”

Mr. George Blakemore, a private citizen, in public comments asked how the District was going to find minority contractors for a farming project in Fulton County.

The Real Estate Development Committee had three consent agenda items.

15-1103 is typical of these items:  In 1951, the MWRD gave a 100-year lease to a radio station on 6.2 acres of District land at 3350 South Kedzie near the main channel of the Chicago River. The rent is $1850 per month.  Over the years the lease has been assigned to various companies. In 2005, the MWRD agreed to a a sub-lease of 8% the property., paying only $1,777.16 per year. The sublessee, a real estate business, pays only $1,777.16 per year and has since bought  the building and parking lot on the MWRD parcel. The sublessee now wants to further sublease to some doctors who want to open offices in the building. Because the 1951 lease pre-dates the District’s policy of sharing 50% of any sublease fees, the District won’t benefit from the sublease to the doctors. The Board was asked to approve this sublease for consideration of $2,500 for “document preparation.”

Additional Agenda Items:  There were two items added to the agenda after agenda packets were distributed to the Board, and to the Public.

(15-1119) added more money to a $167 million contract with McHugh Construction for sludge thickening facilities at the Stickney sewage treatment plant.  Commissioner Alverez abstained from the vote.  George Blakemore, private citizen, in public comments asked if this was because of a conflict of interest.

(15-1120) gave staff the authority to pay $3 million to the US Army Corps of Engineers for the MWRD's share of Chicagoland Underflow Plan McCook Reservoir.
 

The Consent agenda passed easily, and the meeting adjourned in a very short time.

There was a pension and medical benefit workshop that followed the meeting.

submitted by Laurie Morse

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

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