Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
December 1, 2022; 10:30 a.m.

Board Action:
Agenda Item #41-022-014B- Commissioners adopted the Affirmative Action Ordinance Revised Appendix D of the MWRD of Greater Chicago on an unanimous roll call vote.
Main provisions of the ordinance:

1. Certification from the City of Chicago, Cook County and other approved governmental agencies will be accepted.
2. Diversity Department will accept certification requests year-round instead of once a contractor is part of a winning bid.
3. The District will formulate a process for a Diversity Advisory Council during the next 6 months.
4. Furnish and Deliver contracts will be routed to Diversity. All Furnish and Deliver board letters will contain statements on whether goals can be added or not.
5. Diversity will develop a stand alone Small Business Program in 2023.
6. There will be reporting on a bi-annual basis.

President Steele reminded the commissioners that this is a living document and can be changed as circumstances evolve.

Agenda Item #2-22-1047:  The MWRD Board of Commissioners honored outgoing Chakena Perry, highlighting her impressive credentials. Ms. Perry is a graduate of Connecticut College and the University of Chicago. She has been the youngest commissioner on the Board. Commissioner Perry has been an activist in Planned Parenthood, chair of the Cook County Young Democrats and worked for environmental justice. 

Agenda Item #5-22-1080: The MWRD Board honored Nellie L. Jones (1976-1982) who was the first black woman commissioner at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Ms. Jones was an architect of the first affirmative action program. Commissioner Perry introduced the extended family of Nellie Jones, whom she had invited to her last meeting. Several commissioners expressed interest in developing a program to further highlight and honor Ms. Jones.

Stormwater Management:

• Agenda Item 37-22-1071- The Board granted the authority to amend the Intergovernmental Agreement with the Board of Education of Chicago to extend the Space to Grow program through 2023.

New Business:

• As of December 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Building will be named the Barbara G. McGowan Building in recognition of the commissioner’s thirty-two years of service. 

Commissioner Comment:

• After the second public comments, Commissioner Davis expressed interest in an equity department. This would require legislative authority. It would cover more than just affirmative action.

Observer: Georgia Gebhardt                    Executive Session:  Yes

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
​November 17, 2022; 10:30 A.M.

Board Recognitions:

• The MWRD Board recognized retiring Inspector General Patrick M. Blanchard. Commissioners expressed appreciation for his integrity and wished him well in his retirement. Mr. Blanchard complimented the agency on its high standards of administration. 
• Commissioners Morita and McGowan were lauded for their service to the MWRD. Ms. Morita will be leaving to take a seat on the Cook County Board, while Ms. McGowan will retire having been the third longest serving commissioner in the history of the agency.

Much of the rest of the meeting was spent in discussion of a review of amendments to the Affirmative Action Ordinance. 

• Commissioner Corral Sepulveda was particularly concerned that the language of the ordinance be clear and concise, and that there be a common understanding of the intent of the document both among commissioners and the staff.
• There was a consensus that the MWRD would acknowledge the certification of other agencies, but would continue to be a self-certifying agency.
• Commissioner Corral-Sepulveda said that in examining the language, parts of the process could be confusing to those who were applying for certification. The process needs to be streamlined.
• Commissioner Spyropoulos  suggested it would be reasonable to accept the work that another agency had already done and to simply add whatever might be missing.
• Commissioner Corral-Sepulveda was concerned that the staff did not seem to be clear on the intent of the Board.  
• There was some discussion of the need for the verification process to be done before the bidding. Commissioner Morita asked why it could not be an ongoing process.
• President Steele expressed a hope that this be passed in December. However, there seemed to be many unanswered questions, leading Commissioner Garcia to suggest that another study session was necessary before finalization.
• The vote at this meeting would be to continue to review. (Agenda Item 22-014A, #38)

Agenda Items 22-0931, 0932, 0933 (#8, 9, 10)  Commissioners requested quarterly reports from lobbyists to monitor the progress of making companies responsible for PFAS. Commissioner Spyropoulous suggested that there be a specific schedule of dates for the reports. Commissioners Garcia, DuBuclet and Morita asked for updates from the executive director. 

Agenda Item 22-1033 (#37) This was an item to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Evanston as part of the green infrastructure program, one of  whose goals is to expand into the suburbs. The Executive Director reported they are working with consultants now to increase participation.  There has not been an overwhelming response from suburban schools. Commissioner Davis suggested it might be because there are no cohesive funders in suburban areas, like there are in the City of Chicago. Executive Director said they would work to improve outreach.

Consent agenda (#1-38) was unanimously approved on a roll call vote, except for #27 which was deferred.

New business: Will do a poll to find a date after Thanksgiving for study session on affirmative action amendments.
 
Observer: Georgia Gebhardt

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
May 5, 2022

Commission McGowan opened the meeting by calling for the deletion of the proposed amendment to the Affirmative Action Ordinance without discussion until the Board holds a Study Session on the recent Disparity Report.  No date has been set.  All nine commissioners voted to delete without discussion. Agenda Item #1 022-006.)    

Only two other items were pulled for discussion.  Both because the market rate for chemicals, in this case Sodium Hypochlorite and Magnesium Chloride, is widely fluctuating and the vendors do not want to commit to more than a year’s rate.  Hence, they will have the opportunity to rebid the rate for year two of the contract.  After an explanation that during each contract year, the rate would remain the same regardless of market conditions, the items were returned to the agenda. (Agenda Items #13 22-0397 and #17 22-0425.)

All agenda items were approved with the exception of Item #1 above and two others that were deleted by the Executive Director without discussion.

There were no Stormwater Management contracts on the agenda. No Executive Session was held and no New Business was offered

​Observer:  Diane Edmundson

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
April 21, 2022

At the prior meeting, Commissioners said a study session on a comprehensive study on the MWRD’s land use is needed in order to evaluate some proposals for leasing MWRD parcels.  At this meeting, the need for a study session on and a supplement to the Disparity Study was highlighted, and a proposed amendment to the Affirmative Action Ordinance was deferred.  President Steele ended the meeting urging Commissioners to coordinate their calendars so separate study sessions on each could be held very soon.

Proposed amendment to the Affirmative Action Ordinance to revise Appendix D to prohibit a prime contractor from utilizing its status as a Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE), Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE), or Small Business Enterprise (SBE) toward fulfillment of participation goals.  (Item 1, O22-006) 

• Many of the MWRD’s contracts call for stated percentages of MBE/WBE/SBE participation in the work done under the contract.  Currently, if the winner of the contract as the prime contractor is also one or more of these entities, that prime contractor’s status can be counted toward fulfillment of the required percentages.
• 4 speakers, 3 of whom represented associations of MBE/WBE/SBE entities, all expressed grave concerns and/or outright opposition to the proposed change.  As they explained, if an MBE, WBE, or SBE wins the contract as a prime contractor, there may not be other such entities which can perform part of the work.  One of the woman speakers owns a trucking firm, and said that she would not be able to find another woman-owned trucking firm to fulfill the WBE goal that would be set under the contract, so she needs to be able to count her business as meeting the goal. 3 of the speakers asked that the item be held until the Disparity Study was completed and made public.
• Comm. Garcia asked whether Collette Holt, the outside consultant who took the lead on the Disparity Study, has reviewed the proposed amendment.  Dr. Regina Berry, the Diversity Officer, said that Ms. Holt had reviewed this and did opine there were alternatives to achieving the goals of this amendment, though no specifics were given. 
• Comm. Garcia asked for a report from Ms. Holt based on Dr. Berry’s answer, and also asked for a supplement to the Disparity Study, which has obviously been circulated to the Commissioners, regarding LGBTQ and people with disabilities, as well as reviewing whether to expand the Affirmative Action goals to include furnish and deliver contracts (currently exempt).
• While there was discussion about deleting the item so it could potentially be revised and resubmitted at a future meeting, Comm. Morita requested deferral instead, which means it would come back to the Board without any changes.

Deferred or deleted items:

• Comm. Corral Sepulveda questioned the proposal to seek bids for two contracts of $8 million each to provide services as needed for construction or repair of District infrastructure for 3 years starting on Sept. 1, 2022.  A similar proposal for a single contract of $8 million for 2 years had come before the Board on Feb. 17, when the Commissioners asked that it be revised so more vendors could be involved.  Under this proposal, the contract was split between District property on the north and south side, allowing two different vendors to win the prime contract.  However, Comm. Corral Sepulveda said that she would like the contract to be further divided in order to be able to attract MBE/WBE/SBE entities, which often find access to capital to be one of their greatest barriers.  Comm. Garcia’s motion to delete this item passed.  (Item 11, 22-0378)
• Comm. Spyropoulos questioned why a bidding process to furnish and deliver sodium hypochlorite, a disinfectant, had a contract term of only 6 months.  Exec.Dir. Perkovich explained that vendors had told the MWRD that the price for such product is so volatile now that vendors would not be willing to lock in a price for a longer term.  This item was deferred.  (Item 15, 22-0397)
• Also deferred at the request of Comm. Spyropoulos was a proposal to seek bids to provide legal services for bankruptcy and collection matters for 2 years starting on Jan. 1, 2023.  

Also discussed:

• Proposed contract with ComPsych Behavioral Health Corp to provide telephonic counseling, tele-behavioral health services, and up to 8 face-to-face counseling sessions per employee for a 5-year period starting July 1, 2022.  Comm Davis thanked the staff for negotiating this because after the last several years, this service for employees was particularly needed.  A similar service has been provided, and data shows significant usage by employees over the first 3 quarters of 2021. (Item 19, 22-0373)

Stormwater Management Items passed:

• Authority to award a contract for a diversion channel for a flood control project on Midlothian Creek in Robbin for an amount up to $10 million (including a 5% allowance for change orders).  (Item 25, 22-0381)
• Authority to negotiate an agreement with Lyons Township and the Illinois Department of Transportation in connection with a flood control project along the Plainfield Road Corridor. (Item 33, 22-0395)
• Authority to amend an agreement with the Village of Western Springs for storm sewers and outfall to Flagg Creek in Western Springs.  (Item 34, 22-0394)
• Authority to negotiate an agreement with Maine Township, Maine Township Road District, and City of Park Ridge for a flood control project on Farmers and Prairie Creeks.  (Item 35, 22-0395)

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
November 18, 2021

Board Action:

• Consent agenda items (except #1,2, & 3) were passed unanimously by a roll call vote.
• #8-(21-1073) There was a question on the disparity between the bid and the estimate for the item. Executive Director Perkovich explained that it was a more complicated bid because of its location at the executive airport. This resulted in fewer bids being submitted.
• #24-(21-1065) There was a brief discussion related to the increase in funding for tree saplings. Commissioner Davis emphasized that this project was important to the work on climate change and the environment. Several commissioners asked for cost per tree. ED Perkovich reported cost was 50 cents per sapling which will fund 8,000 more trees. 
• #31-(21-1057) asked to extend the collective bargaining agreement to December 31, 2021. Commissioner Davis stated that he supported the unions but asked how much more time would be needed for negotiating the contracts. Director Perkovich assured the board that the negotiations would be wrapped up by the end of the year and there would be no further need for extensions.
• Ordinances 2 & 3 were passed unanimously by roll call vote. R21-003 vacates the Right of Way for the Flood Control Project in Ford Heights. UC21-001 authorizes an amendment of the User Charge Ordinance of the MWRD.

Deferred item: 

• #1 (021-015) -Authority to amend the sunset provision of Ordinance 020-003 to extend expiration date from Dec. 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022 for Affirmative Action Ordinance. Commissioner Garcia requested this be deferred.

Executive session was requested by Commissioner Spyropoulos to discuss minutes of the meeting that are closed to the public. Time of session: 14 minutes.

Commissioner Corral Sepulveda requested a list of MWRD janitorial positions. Commissioner Davis asked for same information. President Steele reminded Board that any information requested is always shared with the entire board.

Observer: Georgia Gebhardt

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting - September 2, 2021

All Items were approved, except for Agenda Item #63, which was deleted (see below for more info on that item).  

Board Highlights:

2020 Report of the Retirement Fund presented by the Fund Executive Director, Jim Mohler (Agenda Item 54, File # 21-0769)

• The presentation for the year ending Dec. 31, 2020 was delayed until now due to COVID.
• Actuarial and Market values of assets were at record highs of $1.56B and $1.588B, respectively.
• Actuarial fund ratio had jumped to 57.3% from 55.9% in 2019 and 50.4% in 2010.  
• Net pension liability dropped by $123M over the last 2 years.
• Fund Net Rate of Return exceeded Actuarial Assumed Rate of Return.
• Investment management fees reduced by over 10%.
• The additional contributions over the actuarial determined contribution that have been approved by the Board have had positive benefits.
• Going forward, need to keep an eye on deficits of cash flows (more money being paid out than contributions).  For 2021, deficit is projected at $81M, about 5%.  However, expected rate of return is higher (7.25% actuarial).  Problem when the deficit percentage exceeds the rate of return.

Stormwater Management

• A representative from a citizens’ group called “Dry Up LaGrange” spoke during public comments asking for help from the MWRD in dealing with flooding problems on the south side of LaGrange.  The group and village officials have met with several Commissioners and staff, as well as their U.S. Representative, State Senator and Representatives, and Cook County officials.  There are several proposed projects which need funding.  There is a lawsuit against the owner of a quarry in McCook which some believe is the cause of the flooding.  The group would also like to send the village’s combined sewage and stormwater into the Deep Tunnel.  President Steele said that the MWRD will continue to meet with both the village and the group and look for ways the MWRD can be of help.
• In response to a question from Comm. Davis regarding an intergovernmental agreement with Berwyn to help fund green alley improvements, staff said that the MWRD continues to inspect the infrastructure at least yearly – in perpetuity – even though the other entity is obligated to do the on-going maintenance.  (Agenda Item 58, File # 21-0759)

Affirmative Action

• With regard to two proposals to advertise “furnish and deliver” contracts for unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, Comm. Garcia asked for an update of the disparity study.  Executive Director Perkovich said that last update he had was by the end of September.  Comm. Garcia and others think that at least some of these “furnish and deliver” contracts should have affirmative action goals.  Currently, these types of contracts are exempt from such requirements.  (Agenda Items 19 & 20, File # 21-0765 and 21-0766)

Settlement with two persons (not MWRD employees) for injuries stemming from the 2018 explosion at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant (Agenda Item #52, File # 21-0782)

• Comm. Shore stated she supported the settlement, but asked about where things stood with the MWRD employee who was severely injured.  Exec. Director Perkovich confirmed that that was being handled through a workers’ compensation claim.
• The total amounts to be paid to the two non-employee claimants are $5.6M and $500,000 (for a total of $6.1M).  The MWRD will expend $1.12M, which is the remaining self-insurance amount, while the district’s excess casualty insurance company will pay the rest.

What to watch for: 
Proposed change to the Board Rules to allow for Members to participate remotely

• After questions and discussion, this item was deleted to allow time for Commissioner input and possible revisions. (Agenda Item #63, File # 21-0795).  
• The General Counsel explained that under the Open Meetings Act, entities may provide for members to participate remotely (video or audio calls) as long as there is a quorum physically present.  In the case of the Board, a quorum is 5, meaning that up to 4 members could be allowed to participate remotely.
• As proposed, and consistent with the language of the Open Meetings Act, a member unable to participate due to personal illness or disability, business of the MWRD, or a family or other emergency, could request to participate remotely by submitting such request via email by 9 am of the day of the meeting to the President and Clerk.  The Board would then vote at the beginning of the meeting whether to grant that request.
• Comm. Garcia and others questioned why the proposed change submitted only allowed for remote participation at Regular Board meetings, and not Special meetings, Executive sessions, Committee meetings, or Study sessions.  Comm. Shore and President Steele both supported at least excluding Executive Sessions.  Comm. Shore was concerned whether the District could be assured an Executive Session was truly confidential if someone was participating remotely.
• Comm. Davis suggested that the MWRD may want to talk to Illinois legislators about further amending the Open Meetings Act to allow more opportunities to have remote participation, citing the example of a snow storm, given the successful experience of holding remote meetings over the last year due to COVID.

Length of meeting:  2 hours and 45 minutes (with a 45-minute Executive Session at 1 hour and 55 minutes into the meeting)

Observer:  Priscilla Mims