Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
January 7, 2021 Board Action:
Deferral Of Agenda Item #27- 21-0037
New Business:
Observer - Georgia Gebhardt Length of Meeting: 110 minutes
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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
December 17, 2020 All Board members in attendance at various times After amending the budget passed on December 10 to include a small salary increase for non-union employees, the Board approved a $1.2 billion budget for 2021 - an increase of $52,812 million over 2020. FTE’s are budgeted at 1,941 which is a decrease of 12 employees. All agenda items were passed. Items of Interest:
Green Alley Projects - Intergovernmental Agreements:
Intergovernmental Agreement with Chicago
New Business
Biosolids Request
Observer: Diane Edmundson Length of Meeting 3 hrs. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Public Hearing on 2021 Tentative Budget December 2, 2020 7 Commissioners present, with Comm. Garcia absent. There were 3 comments. Both Ryan Wilson of the Metropolitan Planning Council and John Legg of the Nature Conservancy separately urged that the MWRD appoint one person to head-up and be the point person for the MWRD’s Stormwater Trading Pilot that was adopted earlier this year. While the failure of any developer to take advantage of this program may be due to COVID, both entities feel that having one dedicated person to head this pilot is crucial for its success. Both also pointed to the Washington, D.C. project as an example of all that needs to be done to successfully launch the program. The duties of this point person would include conveying consistent messaging to municipalities and developers and identifying barriers to getting the program launched, including any legislative barriers.
Chelsey Grassfield of the Friends of the Chicago River urged that the MWRD reassess its real estate holdings of 6,000 some acres for use as stormwater management, as opposed to being looked upon as development opportunities. Comm. Morita said that the MWRD has begun a land-use audit to look at best use for the land: lease-out vs. leaving vacant for stormwater management. Ms. Grassfield also stated that Friends had observed some instances at meeting where the attorneys representing the MWRD stated things that appeared to be inconsistent with MWRD policy. The Commissioners and Executive Director wanted more details, which Ms. Grassfield said she would provide. Observer: Priscilla Mims Length of meeting: 1 hour, 10 minutes Metropolitan Water Reclamation Board (MWRD) Meeting - December 3, 2020
All 8 current Board members in attendance. Eira L. Corral Sepulveda will be sworn in as the 9th Commissioner at the MWRD’s Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 1 pm. A common theme running through all the discussions of designated items was the importance of engaging the communities involved. In some cases, the Commissioners verified that the communities had been involved prior to approving items. In other cases, the Commissioners encouraged the staff to be sure the communities knew what was being done for them by the MWRD. All items on the agenda were approved unanimously. Following are some of the items discussed: Stormwater Management:
Prescription Drug Take-back Program:
Installation of odor-control equipment at the Stickney Plant
New Business:
Length of meeting: 2 hours, 10 minutes (including a 25-minute pause for an Executive Session) Observer: Priscilla Mims Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
November 19, 2020 Commissioners absent: Morita The Board approved all but one of the day’s agenda items. Stormwater Management Agenda Item number 53 (20-1022) was deleted by Commissioner Deborah Shore following a pointed discussion with staff about making policy without Board involvement or approval. The discussion illuminated MWRD’s difficulty accepting stormwater responsibilities in communities outside the MWRD’s corporate boundaries, where it does not have a mechanism to collect revenue.
Other Agenda Items: Item 10 20-0974. Commissioner Garcia asked that Item 10 be pulled for discussion.
Item 41 20-1018 Commissioner Shore pulled this item because it funds in part additional personal protective gear for workers.
New Business
Observer’s Name: Laurie Morse Length of Meeting: 2 hours Special Meeting of the MWRD’s Committee on the Budget & Employment
November 5, 2020 On October 13, the Executive Director presented his 2021 budget recommendation. At today’s meeting, the Committee voted to accept some slight increases to that recommendation, which still result in a small overall decrease from 2020 of 2.1% currently. The proposed 2021 tax levy may increase by 1.1%. However, all numbers could still change before final approval of the budget, scheduled for December 17. Next steps:
Proposed budget as it currently stands (incorporating changes approved on Nov. 5);
At this meeting, all major department areas of the MWRD presented highlights of their accomplishments in 2020, along with key initiatives for 2021, all of which are reflected in the Executive Recommendation, as amended at this meeting. These areas include: Stormwater Management Fund --
Procurement & Materials Management – moved up and fully implemented electronic bidding and signature process as a result of needs due to COVID-19 General Administration – Planned space\use study halted due to COVID; no provision to do this in 2021 budget. In Diversity section, President Steele said she wanted to add a position. Plan is to conduct an affirmative action disparity study for purposes of evaluating MWRD’s Affirmative Action Policy. With regard to Public Affairs, Comm. Du Buclet asked how the MWRD can be more visible to the public. Comm. Garcia wants translator to appear at more events. Board of Commissioners (includes Treasurer and Legislative Section) – Comm. Shore would like to put excess funding released from TIF districts toward Retirement Fund, as was done last year. Told would be done. Currently expecting $19 M. Retirement Fund – at 56% funding and holding steady Additional Comments at end from Comm. Davis:
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