Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
July 15, 2024 

Procurement Issues Raised:

• Commissioners Brady, Davis and Brown were highly critical of procurement ordinance requirements for what they termed as “technical reasons” for rejection.  Items #34-35 were specifically pulled from the agenda to be discussed. Both Commissioners stated the board has every right to raise concerns on why certain bids are rejected as they are charged with being “good stewards” of taxpayer money.  Item #34 is for a Landscape Maintenance contract to be awarded to Lizzetta Medina & Company.  Brady-Davis asked for this item to be deferred and said that she feels like problems with contract rejections are more systemic than just ordinance requirements.  #34-0604
• Commissioner Brown deferred #35 for a $19.9 million dollar flood control contract.  She asked Executive Director for guidelines by the next board meeting on what constitutes “good faith” in meeting the district’s LGBTQ requirements.  After a break, Item #35 was put back on the agenda and received unanimous support.  Prior to the break, staff had noted that payment outlays from a large government grant must be started by September.  In addition, Item #52 called for the board to approve a contract with a law firm to conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of the District’s procurement policies and procedures.  The staff was publicly thanked for listening to the board’s concerns and getting this contract approval on the agenda.  Staff noted that the timeline for completion is the end of the year [November 1].  #35 24-0609 and  #52 24-0612

Public Speakers

• Friends of the Chicago River spoke in support of extending through 2026 the Stormwater Trading Ordinance pilot projects due to sunset in January of 2025; spoke against proposed Article #103 to increase acreage covered under the Watershed Ordinance from ½ acres to 1 acre; and strongly supports Watershed Article #106.  The ordinance update language was not included in the board agenda.  The Nature Conservancy said it supports all of the proposed updates.   
• James Black of Michael’s Construction asked why his company’s bid for Item #35, which was the lowest, was rejected.  Ans:  he did not meet all of the WMB requirements while, according to procurement staff, all other bidders did.
• Mike Archey had to leave the meeting but provided a written request asking the District, “when will the past due Energy Neutrality Study be published for public Review.”  He went on to elaborate his concerns about the District’s energy and carbon management, its project delivery process, and its procurement process.

Board Action   

• With the exception of Item #34, all agenda items were approved.  
• Comm. Spyropoulos asked why staff rejected proposals to develop a small business program. E.D. Perkovich said the project will go back out to bid with the removal of the 10-year experience requirement.  Garcia asked for a report to all commissioners on sister agency requirements.  He noted that the board wants to ensure success but also has been waiting for this program to get off the ground.  #07  24-0565
  
• Comm. Davis noted that the contract for the Stickney Plant biosolids management strategy was to manage only biosolids “output”.  He asked if “input” can also be managed.  Answer:  Can do so in-house by looking at emerging technologies which are very energy intensive.  When asked by Davis for a timeline, the answer was ASAP.  Garcia stated he hoped that this contract will revisit using output for residential use as he has received many requests.  Item 25   #24-0572
• Approved a contract for Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances in wastewater samples to Eurofins Environment Testing North Central Company for $96,250.   #33 24-0592
  

Items Deferred  

• Items #34 and #35 discussed above.  Item #35 deferral was lifted later in the meeting.  Item #34 remained deferred.

Executive Session:    YES.  called by Commissioner Spyropoulos, Chair Budget & Employment.  60 minutes

The meeting began at 10:30 and ended at 1:00 p.m.   All but Commissioner Sepulveda were present. 

Observer:  Diane Edmundson

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting  –
​June 20, 2024

Agenda Items

• All 44 agenda items were accepted and brought to the regular agenda. There was no public comment.

Stormwater Management

• Item 24-0519 will be advertised for Assessment of Local Sewers (estimated cost $1,645,900) and Item 24-0539 will be advertised to Furnish and Install Odor Control System at Thornton Reservoir (estimated cost $4,471,074).

Deferred or Deleted Agenda Items

• No agenda items were deferred or deleted.

New Business

• The Board went into Executive Session at 10:59am to discuss Collective Bargaining Negotiation Matters. It reconvened at Noon with no further new business brought forth.

Commissioner Requests

• No reports or requests by commissioners.

Observer - Peggy Kell                                                   Executive Session - Yes

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
​June 6, 2024

Board Action:

• #7 24-0472   Michael Malatt, CPA, gave the MWRD a clean bill after the annual audit. He stated that the audit results were free from misstatement and that the firm was able to issue a “clean opinion” which is the highest rating possible. No weaknesses and deficiencies were found. He described the report as “boring” because nothing of concern was found. 
• #1 0490   The MWRD Commissioners voted unanimously to appoint Steven J. Lux as Treasurer of the MWRD of Greater Chicago. 
• #10 24-0474    Commissioner Davis questioned this item related to the rejection of bids. This particular agenda item was not the issue, but rather Davis was concerned about the ongoing history of rejecting bids because of such things as missing signatures and other minor omissions. He stated that this type of rejection discourages bidders. Bidders spend a good deal of time preparing their bids, and taxpayers lose when there are delays for months. Commissioner Davis said that this has been an ongoing issue, for which the department has not yet found a solution. 
  
• Commissioner Garcia echoed Davis’ comment. He said procurement processes still need attention. It is not happening and is taking too long.  Commissioner Corral-Sepulveda asked when the software contract expires. Perhaps a different software might help. What has the department done to respond? Commissioner Garcia asked if the MWRD was moving toward a consultant. He suggested that this would be a good move.  Commissioner Davis agreed, emphasizing that the consultant should be independent of the MWRD and its related associations.  Commissioner Flynn stated that she would expect bidders to be professional and to meet all the requirements without having missing signatures and other details.  President Steele directed ED Perkovich to provide the commissioners with necessary information and follow up on this issue.

Deferred Agenda Item:  

• #27 24-0464    Commissioner Garcia requested that this item be deferred. It is authority to award a contract to furnish and deliver electrical supplies for a one-year period.

Commissioner Request: 

• #35 24-0469   Commissioner Spryropoulos requested an update on the agenda item which requests the authority to decrease the contract to design and build a biosolids processing facility at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant. 

Executive Session: A 20-minutes session was held to discuss minutes of the Open Meetings Act.   

Observer:  Georgia Gebhardt                                                 ​Meeting length:  1 hr. 20 min.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
May 16, 2024

Board Action:

• The Board, with no discussion on the merits, approved all items on the Consent agenda, except for #13 which was withdrawn by the Executive Director (authority to advertise a contract to remove and replace pavement at various locations, Item 24-0396).  The items approved included authorizing the staff to negotiate and enter into intergovernmental agreements for 13 projects dealing with stormwater management in different areas across the County:  Broadview, Brookfield, Forest Park, Franklin Park, Glenview, Hoffman Estates, Markham, North Riverside, Northlake, Willow Springs, Hillside, Chicago, and the Cook County Forest Preserve District.  (Agenda items 47 through 59)
• The intergovernmental agreement with the Forest Preserve District is for land acquisition, concept planning, and preliminary engineering for a flood control project near the confluence of Deer Creek and Third Creek that is expected to provide increased flood protection for Ford Heights, Glenwood, Thornton, South Hollland, Calumet City, and Lansing.  Friends of the Chicago River expressed its support for this item during Public Comments. (Item 24-0415)
• While not directly related to the merits of the rejection of bids for another proposed flood control project on Midlothian Creek in Robbins, Commissioner Davis did raise questions which he said would further his understanding of the effectiveness of the MWRD’s procurement process.  Commissioner Davis asked what factors lead to a determination that a bid is incomplete.  The response was failing to properly address diversity requirements, failing to provide signatures, and failure to provide the required bond.  (Agenda Item 5.)
• The Board then went into Executive Session and took a lunch break before returning to open session to complete the meeting with New Business.  Because of the expected length of the break (well over an hour), this Observer left and watched the remaining few minutes via video.

Time of meeting (without break and executive session):  1 hour and 15 minutes

Observer:  Priscilla Mims

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board of Directors Meeting
May 2, 2024-10:30 a.m.

Board Action:

​Agenda #40 (24-0338) The MWRD staff presented a report on the DIA (Disproportionately Impacted Areas) communities that will receive infrastructure assistance.

• Commissioner Davis asked about the current criteria for selection. The original criteria list was developed in 2019. Has this criteria been updated? And did commercialization penalize some of the communities?  
• Staff spokesperson, Dr. O’Connor, assured the commissioners that they are eager to work with them to update the criteria. There are many projects underway on the south side that will slow down the flow to the Thornton reservoir. If communities are not selected (e.g. Cicero), they can still benefit by the Green Schoolyard initiative.
• Commissioner Corral-Sepulveda asked E.D. Perkovich about the goals of the program. She urged development of clear measurable goals and noted that developing these requires great expertise. Commissioner Garcia asked for an update that includes what Chicago is doing in this area. He stressed the  importance of knowing how other governmental entities are solving these issues.
• Final consensus was that the commissioners were pleased with the staff work and were interested in being actively involved in updating the criteria for the infrastructure program.

Agenda #3 (024-005) The Ordinance to give authority to amend the Watershed Management Ordinance-Wetlands Jurisdictional  Determination was passed. Ayes: 8 Nays: 0 Ab. 1

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

• Friends of the Chicago River spoke in support of agenda #40, the Green Infrastructure Program.
• Resource Environmental Solutions spoke for a 3-year extension to the program that identifies stormwater projects. 

DELETED ITEMS: Executive Director Perkovich deleted #1, 2 and 27.

•   #1- Ordinance 024-003- providing the transfer of an amount from the 459 Capital Improvements Bond Revenue Sub-Fund to pay for certain non-Tunnel and Reservoir Plan related expenditures….
•     #2-024-004-Ordinance providing for the transfer of an amount from the 459 Capital Improvements Bond Revenue Sub-Fund to pay for certain Tunnel and Reservoir Plan related expenditures…
•     #27-24-0327-Authority to award Contract Landscape Maintenance at Various Service Areas to Lizzette Medina & Company.

Consent agenda (#1-41, except for #1,2,3, 27) was passed unanimously.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: Commissioners met to discuss personnel matters.


Meeting adjourned: 11:55 a.m. on an unanimous vote. 

Observer: Georgia Gebhardt

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
​April 18, 2024
8 Members present, Commissioner Corral-Sepulveda attended remotely, and Commissioner Spyropoulos was absent.  

The Board meet in regular session for 20 minutes before going into executive session. In that 20 minutes Board approved the full consent agenda without comment or questions.  Approved items include:

• Administration:  A 1-year extension of the intergovernmental agreement allowing Cook County’s Office of Independent Inspector General to serve as MWRD Inspector General. This item had been deferred by Commissioner Davis in the April 4th Board meeting. MWRD will pay $600,000 for services covered by the extension.  #15 24-0244           The Board previously approved an $10.9 million dollar contract with IHC Construction for roof replacement at the Lue-Hing Maintenance and Repair complex at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant. A series of change orders in March resulted in the Board approving an increase in the contract with IHC in an amount not to exceed $11,144,401 million. #29 24-0265
• Phosphorous removal:     The Board previously approved a $16 million contract with IHC Construction for a Phosphorus removal facility at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant.  At this meeting the Board approved an increase, to an amount not to exceed $16,334,179 million.   #28 24-0261

Stormwater Management: 

• The Board approved authority to advertise a contract to rehabilitate Salt Creek intercepting Sewer #3 at a cost estimated between $16 and $19 million dollars. The project is located in Brookfield and LaGrange Park, which have combined sewer systems. The district expects to award a construction contract in October, and estimates completion in April 2026. Item #11 24-0260
• Commissioners approved the section of the Village of Posen to receive MWRD assistance in planning stormwater projects.  Several communities had submitted proposals.  

During public comments, Tessa Murray, who spoke for the Friends of the Chicago River, praised the selection, saying the program was designed to provide assistance to flood-affected communities lacking capacity to do this on their own.  Ms. Murray encouraged the District to expand the conceptual stormwater program to more than one community in future years. She also suggested the projects include green infrastructure as part of their flood control options. #33 24-0264

Executive session: A 2-hour closed session was held after the completion of Old Business and approval of the consent agenda.  In motioning to close the meeting, two purposes were cited:

1. The first motion for executive session was to discuss collective bargaining.
2. The second motion to discuss employment matters for a specific individual, including disciplinary action and dismissal.

New Business:  There were announcements following the executive session. No significant new business. The meeting adjourned about 10 minutes after return from executive session.

Observer:  Laurie Morse