Knotty Problem of Furnish & Deliver Coverage under the MWRD's Affirmative Action Ordinance Continues

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
September 1, 2022

(Agenda Item #10 - #22-0766) A request to increase the cost estimate for rehabilitation of the Upper Des Plaines Intercepting Sewer to between $28,500 and $34,500 million was pulled by Commissioner Garcia to discuss the possibility of separating out the parts of the contract that cover Furnish and Deliver items that could have Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) goals attached.  Dr. Berry of the AAP Department noted the following:         

• The District needs to add Furnish & Deliver (F&D) to its Ordinance which has not yet been done.
• Often there are no sub contractual F&D parts that can be assigned goals.
• Her department sees only those F&D contracts over $100,000. 

Three additional agenda items were pulled for discussion.

• #17 – A contract for consulting services to conduct a “machine learning study and develop a conceptual plan for mitigating orders at the Thornton Composition Reservoir at a cost estimate of $150,000”.  Commissioner Sepulveda suggested including data from the surrounding community into the Plan and asked how that would be done. She asked that the MWRD consider meeting in-person with surrounding businesses and residents to obtain more information regarding the odor problem.  #22-0750
• #46 – Staff requested authorization to enter into a memo of understanding with the Danish Water Technology Alliance represented by the Consulate General of Denmark located in Chicago and Aarthus V and A/S of Denmark to engage in a knowledge exchange program.  Commissioner Spyropoulos pulled the item to specifically support this effort and to thank the staff for pursuing it.  Commissioner Sepulveda hoped that there would be a like opportunity to work with Thailand, a country she recently visited.  #22-0757
• #55 – A request to amend the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Northlake for the acquisition of flood-prone properties.  There was no discussion on the amendment itself, but Commission Garcia asked for a list of lands acquired for this purpose.  This is a repeat of his request during the August 18 Land Use Study Session as he would like to include these statistics in what goes out to the public stating how much land the MWRD either leases for recreational purposes or works with communities to restore/mitigate land for flood control purposes.  The Legal Department stated that a map of those communities where MWRD does work and then the communities take over the maintenance will be available in the next three weeks.   #22-0787

All 57 agenda items were approved.

Stormwater Management: 

• Four items were approved either for property acquisition or agreements to undertake flood control construction. #54 - #57.

New Business: 

• Commissioner Davis thanked the staff for its continued efforts to obtain electric vehicles. 
• Commissioner Sepulveda thanked E.D. Perkovich for extending an invitation to Thai leadership to visit MWRD facilities.
• Commission Garcia noted that the MWRD’s bond rating from finance agencies increased from AA to AA+.

No Executive Session was held.

Observer:  Diane Edmundson                                                 Length of Meeting:  55 minutes