Looking forward to a pretty packed meeting, with the Standing Committees of Finance, Procurement, Judiciary, Real Estate Development, and Stormwater Management all having much to cover. This is the link to today's agenda: mwrd.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&…

The meeting has been called to order by Kari Steele, President Board of Commissioners, at 10:30 am. Just settling in:

Interesting opening scene with the procession into the room by the Shannon Rovers Irish Bagpipe Band:

Jim Coyne from Plumbers UA Local 130 is speaking about the upcoming St Patrick's Day Parade and his union's role in turning the Chicago River green. Much fanfare in the room with Cara Walsh, the 2025 Parade Queen, taking over the podium next.

Both Jim and Cara spoke about the contribution of Irish laborers to the City of Chicago, paying tribute to their own families in the process. President Steele then moved to approve the minutes of last board meeting and to adjourn for five minutes. See you after this short break!

Items pulled out of the consent agenda are being discussed now. Item 11, Roof Replacement at Egan Water Reclamation Plant (), is coming up first. Multiple commissioners are asking questions about the possible installation of a green roof for the project. mwrd.org/locations/john…

Items 17, 18, and 19 are next. Three separate contracts to award by the Board to contractors: Utilization and Transportation of Air Dried Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA, Services of Heavy Equipment with Operators, and Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA.

President Steele emphasized that, although federal regulations on water treatment have been made less stringent, the Board will continue to uphold the same standards on water treatment under its jurisdiction, a sentiment widely shared by other commissioners.

Roll call votes for items 17, 18, and 19 have been deferred to the afternoon, after Commissioner Waller voiced her vehement opposition to items 17 & 19.

Next up is item 25, the Amended Agreed Order of Settlement issued by the Board-appointed Hearing Officer in the reinstated Show Cause proceedings of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago v. Electronic Plating Co., Case No. 22B-003.

Item 25 is deferred to the next two weeks after the Board's legal counsel Susan Morakalis spoke about the proposed settlement. She conveyed some sense of urgency for the board to address the settlement but it appears that won't be addressed today.

Another five-minute break before the regular board meeting resumes!

John Murray has just been unanimously appointed as the Acting Executive Director.

Roll call for Item 17: Authority to award Contract 25-692-11, Utilization and Transportation of Air Dried Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA, Groups A and B to Synagro Central, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $3,778,388.15. Approved with Commissioner Waller being the only no vote.

Roll call for Item 18: Authority to award Contract 25-699-11, Services of Heavy Equipment with Operators, to McGill Construction, LLC, Group A and B, in an amount not to exceed $3,775,803.00. Unanimously approved.

Roll call for Item 19: Authority to award Contract 25-690-11, Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids from LASMA and CALSMA, Groups A and B, to Stewart Spreading, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $29,134,900.00. Approved with Commissioner Waller being the only no vote.

The consent agenda of all remaining items on the table today is being read out by the clerk. Seems routine business of the Board with every Commissioner voting yes.

The meeting is in a recess now and shall return to the Board's Executive Session soon. Stay tuned!

The regular board meeting of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners has resumed after an hour-long lunch recess.

Another flurry of St Patrick's Day-adjacent comments. Commissioners are talking about their and each other's Irish heritage. Separately, Vice President Flynn also mentioned on a positive note that a stormwater-related lawsuit filed against the District has been dismissed.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 pm. This concludes my live-tweeting for today's regular meeting of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters