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Land Use Options Topped the Discussion at MWRD Board Meeting

12/17/2021

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


Board Action:
  • Of the 40 agenda items, six were pulled for discussion:  Among them was a request to advertise for contract farming at the Hanover Park plant.  The purpose of the farming is to allow for continued disposal of MWRD created biosolids on the land.  By planting corn, the nutrients from the biosolids are absorbed, thereby allowing for continued disposal. Cost of contract to the MWRD is estimated at $628.4 thousand. Commissioner Spyropoulos requested a deferral and asked for a report to include the history of the property, how the growing process came about, and what other options including planting tree samplings can be grown.  Commissioners’ Garcia and Morita respectively asked for a status report of the biosolid project and a list of other options for this land including cost.  (Agenda Item #11 21-1114)
  • Another land use issue was the request to advertise for bids on a 5-year lease on 3.78+ acres of vacant district property in Forest View.  Initial rental bid set at $155,000.  This is the 2nd time this request has been on the agenda; and after initially deferring at this meeting, Commissioner McGowan lifted the deferral.  The property would be paved over for truck parking because, according to staff, it is not suitable for recreation due to its location.  Commissioner Davis said that the Land Use Policies need to be looked at and applied to this type of property.  Commissioner Garcia, Chair of the Land Use Committee, noted that 80% of MWRD land is already in conservancy and that the adjacent canal was created for business. He said that the committee and staff are working on a draft of two polities on Land Use and expects there will be a Study Session in January 2022.   (Agenda Item #14  21-1135)
  • After receiving a report of the significant violations of pretreatment standards or other requirements by industrial users, Commissioner Spyropoulos asked if there is a public list of non-compliant businesses and was told that the staff would provide a list.  She noted that in 2019 there were 61 on the list and in 2020, 66.  The 2021 data should be available by mid-year 2022.  The EPA has said that the MWRD needs to be tougher on industrial users who are non-compliant.  (Agenda Item #36  21-1106)

Stormwater Management
  • The Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with and to make payment to the city of Prospect Heights to acquire flood-prone property in an amount not to exceed $376,000.  (Agenda Item #40 21-1142)

New Business
  • Commissioner Davis noted that the last Inspector General’s report noted significant cost overruns.  Davis said that the board regularly receives change orders with more than 5% cost overruns and 20% delays. He said he will be monitoring future requests.
  • The Board approved a motion to authorize Juneteenth as a District Holiday.
  • The Board also authorized the extension of the sunset provision of the Affirmative Action Ordinance to be moved from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022 to accommodate the yet to be received new Disparity Study.

Board Requests
  • Commissioner DuBuclet requested a list of Media vendors used by the District to advertise.  
  • Commissioner Spyropoulos requested staff provide a memo on the District’s process and violators for the last five years and also include what other agencies are doing in this regard.  

After Meeting Public Hearing on the 2022 Budget
  • Commissioner Davis said that the Budget is a statement of values and asked that a dashboard on budget progress towards climate change goals be created and an Environmental Justice Office be created within the agency.   He also asked that the Space to Grow Project be expanded to include the suburbs of which there are 120+ in Cook County.  His third request for future budgets is the hiring of an attorney reporting directly to the board.
  • There was only one public Speaker, Mr. Michael Archie.  He said that the board, based on its current trajectory, cannot reach its goal of energy neutrality by 2023.  He said the technology is out there to meet it by 2030-35, but the District has to embrace the technology.

Observer:  Diane Edmundson
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Stormwater Management Focus of Comments at Public Hearing on MWRD 2021 Tentative Budget

12/6/2020

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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.  
  • The Executive Director and Dr. Katherine O’Connor, the head of Stormwater Management, believe that they have sufficient people to implement the program and were reluctant to place a single person as a point person, though they were still willing to talk about this.  Comm. Morita suggested that even if a single person would not be working on this full-time, maybe a single person could be identified for communications with municipalities and developers.

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
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MWRD Board Requests More Background Information on Several Agenda Items

3/18/2020

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
March 5, 2020        

Approved Items with Discussion:
  • #9, 20-0181: Discussion took place about the transfer of the $20,000,000.00 of Accumulated Investment Interest Income to the MWRD Retirement Fund.  Questions were asked about the use of minority owned investment firms and in what way these funds will be allocated for investments.  The outside investment manager is Marquette Investment; Commissioners asked what they charge for their services.
  • #23, 20-0207:  Authority to lease 14.02 acres of improved District real estate at 6400 South Archer Avenue in Bedford Park, Illinois; Main Channel parcel 33.01.  Currently, there is a tenant on the property.  The Board requested more information.
  • #33,  20-0209  Discussion about the authority to amend the easement agreement dated March 24, 1949 between the District and Cornerstone Properties (successor in interest to ComEd) to use and maintain District owned portions in Stickney and Forest View.  Commissioners questioned Com Ed’s obligation to alert the District about any problems occurring and would like this to be included in the new agreement.

Deferred or Deleted Items:
  • #13, 20-0177 Deferred by Commissioner Davis - more information was requested regarding why this money is sent to a law firm instead of directly to the Coalition and who the Coalition members are.
  • #14, 20-0205 Deferred by Commissioner Garcia - Much discussion took place about the relationship of this engineering project to the future Lincoln Yards Project. The Commissioners were assured that the project would have taken place because of TARP’s inadequate connections and are looking for others that need correction. The Commissioners requested more information.
  • #15, 20-0184 Ex. Director deleted a request to advertise for Scavenger Services estimated cost of $3,883,400.
  • #31, 20-0217 Deferred by Commissioner Garcia - More information was requested before the reappointment of Jose Lopez as Commissioner on MWRD’s Ethics 

Commissioner Requests
  1. Mr. Garcia requested a list of minority investment participation
  2. Ms. Shore requested new leases include additional notices to the District
  3. Mr. Davis requested the Diversity Department provide the Board message ready notices for district events.
All Commissioners were present

Observed by:  Pat Lind                                Meeting Length:  1 hr. 45 min.
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Boundary Issues for Voting and Services Discussed at MWRD Board Meeting

2/28/2020

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
February 20, 2020  

Board Action:
  • Agenda Item 38. 20-0053 A.  At the February 6 Board Meeting, the board asked to split this agenda item, the MWRD Legislative Initiative for Springfield, into 2 sections and deferred the resolution.  In this meeting, the board approved Initiative #1 that would amend the District’s enabling ordinance to allow the Board to transfer excess revenue from any source legally available to the pension fund.   Initiative #2 - to request amending the enabling ordinance to allow all Cook County voters to vote for MWRD commissioners regardless of whether they reside within the MWRD area - was deleted.
  • Agenda Item 29.  20-0169.  The authority to issue a three month permit to Commonwealth Edison Co. to use 10,000 sq. ft. portions of land parcels in Bedford Park as helicopter landing zones for delivery and access to its transmission line.  Further consideration of tree removal along with reclamation and remediation for the parcels will be built into the permit.  This was approved with consideration that there be a $5,000.00 annual fee 
  • Deleted Agenda Item: - Item 10. 20-0149 Authority to Furnish and deliver Sodium Bisulfite. No venders met the criteria for compliance.  Commissioner McGowan asked if minority firms were contacted.
  • Deferred Agenda Item: Item 24. 20-0097 was deferred for a second time.   The authority to award contracts to furnish, deliver and install an upgraded operator for TARP Gate 1 at the O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant.
  • Nine Resolutions were presented honoring February’s Black History Month and several individuals.

Public Comments: 
  • Sally Stone and Rob Sulski spoke on behalf of land parcels 34A and 34C in Glenview and Northbrook regarding the lack of care and management of parcel 34B.  Invasive plant specie’s seeds are flowing downstream and creating contamination problems in the other two parcels.  Those two communities have volunteers that maintain those parcels.  They suggested mowing earlier and often.  The Board agreed to follow up with answers by the end of the week and agreed to consider community help.

Commissioner Request: 
  • Commissioner Cameron Davis requested that in the future, proposed Ordinance resolutions be published at least 30 days in advance of board review or vote for public notice and comment.

All commissioners except Garcia were present.  He arrived for the 1:00 p.m. Study Session covering the Affirmative Action Disparity Study Report.  

Observed by:  Pat Lind                                                     Length of Meeting - 2 hrs.
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MWRD Board Approves Amendment to Ethics Ordinance

1/25/2020

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
January 23, 2020


Board Decisions:
  • The Amendment to the Ethics Ordinance of the MWRD of Chicago was passed unanimously without discussion. Commissioners Shore and Steele expressed how gratified they were to see this come to fruition.
  • There were a considerable number of items that requested an increase of existing purchase orders. The authority to increase the purchase order with the law firm of Neal & Leroy came under scrutiny from several commissioners. Commissioner Davis stated that these orders came up for change too often because they did not adhere to the fee policy of 2018. He suggested three choices: live within the policy, eliminate it or amend it. Commissioner Garcia observed that the board was not sufficiently well prepared and in possession of all the necessary facts before being asked to render decisions. There is a need for more timely response from staff when commissioners have questions.  VOTE: 7 ayes     1 nay (Davis)

Board Discussion:
  • Commissioner Shore raised concerns with (pipeline) perpetual easements and their risk to the MWRD. Given that they are perpetual, can they be renegotiated to respond to a change in risk. The MWRD attorney said renegotiation was unlikely, but these easements still must meet insurance requirements and compliance expectations. All pipelines have IEPA and EPA requirements they must meet. Commissioners Shore and Morita expressed a need to review perpetual pipeline agreements and to address at a policy level.
  • State of Illinois 2020 Legislative Program. The deadline to submit this program was January 24, 2020 (the following day). While the commissioners were in support of the program, several expressed some frustration that there was no time to address their questions given the deadline. They were reassured by the legislative head that there were already shell bills in place, allowing for flexibility.  Legislative initiative #2 was deemed particularly important because it would allow registered voters outside the District’s corporate boundaries to vote for the MWRD commissioners. Item deferred at Comm. Garcia's request. (Agenda Item #36,0053)
Observer - Georgia Gebhardt

Report corrected 1/27/2020  to note item #36,0053 was deferred
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MWRD Board Forwards Land Deal for Crestwood Casino Project

10/4/2019

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
October 3, 2019


What did the Board decide?

Approved 99-year lease for 44.4 acre property for Crestwood development project (
AgendaI Item #16, 19-0992)
  • The board unanimously accepted an initial annual rental bid of $820,626 from the City of Crestwood.  It is not clear if the lease is contingent on Crestwood receiving a casino license from the State of Illinois. The lease is for 99 years, a departure from the MWRD’s typical lease length of 39 years.  There was no discussion of the 35% reduction in annual rent from the minimum $1,262,500 Commissioners authorized for this property at their August 8, 2019 meeting.  
  • During public comment Chelsey Grassfield, policy specialist for Friends of the Chicago River, addressed the board, seeking vigilance in maintaining 60-100 foot required setbacks from the river and advocated use of sustainable landscape design when the MWRD reviews site plans for the 44.4 acre parcel bordering the Cal-Sag canal that the City of Crestwood will lease from the MWRD.  The community is seeking a casino license to anchor development on this property.  Ms. Grassfield said leaseholder’s focus should be on the health of the river and maintaining established waterway standards.
  • Later in the meeting Commissioner Cameron Davis inquired when the public would again be able to comment on sustainability and design of the development of the property. Staff said the MWRD would review site plans when they are available, and Commissioners could participate in the process.

2020 Regular Board Meeting Calendar approved  (Agenda Item #1 - 19-0998)

Study of Affirmative Action hiring record deferred (Agenda Item #23 - 19-0993) 
  • The MWRD is required to conduct a study of disparity in its Affirmative Action hiring practices.  This item would have authorized request for proposals seeking an outside contractor to perform the analysis at an estimated cost of $200,000.  
  • Commissioner Marcelino Garcia asked for this item to be deferred until he had time to discuss his concerns with staff.  He said that he wanted this to be a meaningful accounting of the District’s minority hiring practices, and not just the minimum required by law.  After supporting comments from Commissioners Frank Avila, Barbara McGowan, and Board President Kari Steele, the Board directed staff to schedule a study session for them on progress in minority hiring practices
  • Commissioner Garcia then asked to remove this RFP authorization item the Board’s agenda until after the study session.

Allocation for expert witness testimony deleted from agenda
 (Agenda Item #29 - 19-0952)
  • This item would have budgeted $200,000 for expert witness testimony in an ongoing lawsuit.
  • It was removed from the agenda without comment by Executive Director Brian Perkovich

Bio solids bagging contract deferred (Agenda Item #18- 19-0937) 
  • The MWRD gives away biosolids (compost) to the public at its Stickney plant. People can take it away in their own containers, but the District pays to bag some of the material for distribution.  This item proposed to seek and pay a contractor $45,000 over a 3-year period to pick up composted biosolids from the Harlem Ave. composting facility, transport them to an off-site location, bag it, and return the filled bags to the Stickney Plant.   
  • In response to Commissioners’ questions, staff said the plan would produce 5,000 bags of compost per year at a cost of $15,000 per year. Commissioner Debra Shore asked for cost-comparisons between buying the bagging equipment and having MWRD employees do the bagging and outsourcing.  Commissioner Barbara McGowan questioned the process of transporting the compost back and forth.  
  • Commissioner Marcelino Garcia questioned the value of the project, saying that while it is very nice that the District gives away composted biosolids, the MWRD lacks a plan to monetize and distribute it products at scale.  “We need to industrialize and sell the products we create,” he said.  “We need a staff person who is dedicated to this idea, and who can move us forward.” The Commissioners agreed to defer this item until it could be more fully explored.

Other discussions of interest:
  • Commissioner Mariyana T. Spyropoulos questioned why certain contracts were rejected and why the District received so few responses to some requests for proposals. She asked if specifications for services were being too narrowly written. She suggested a look at procedures for contracting.
  • Commissioner Marcelino Garcia questioned if minority guidelines were being observed when the District added scope or funding to existing contracts.  There were several items on the agenda that did add funds to existing contracts, and he highlighted them. Staff said that they would be attentive to this issue.

Observer - Laurie Morse                                       Meeting Length - 2.5 hours

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