December 4, 2006

 

Minutes of the Organizational and Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the North Shore Sanitary District held Monday, December 4, 2006 at 9:30 AM. at the District Office of the Raymond E. Anderson Complex located in Gurnee, Illinois.

 

ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

 

The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

On roll call, the following Trustees were present:

 

                                Stephen J. Drew, President

                                Daniel M. Pierce, Vice President

                                John R. Paxton, Treasurer

                                James E. Swarthout

                                Effie Wroten

                                 

 

Staff members present were General Manager Brian Dorn, Assistant General Manager Dave Miller, Attorney Jay Ukena, Director of Engineering Services Jai Gupta, Director of Laboratory Services Joe Robinson, Director of Operations Gary Sowma and Director of Technology Services Pete Russo.

 

President Drew announced that this was the Annual Organizational Meeting.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Paxton, that Stephen J. Drew be elected Chairman of the Annual Organizational Meeting.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Chairman Drew and seconded by Trustee Paxton to appoint Mary Jo Bryant Secretary of the Meeting.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

Mary Jo Bryant administered the Oath of Office to Trustees John R. Paxton and James E. Swarthout.

 

It was moved by Trustee Pierce and seconded by Trustee Swarthout, that the regularly scheduled meetings of the Board of Trustees of the North Shore Sanitary District for 2007 will be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 9:30 A.M. with the exception of Tuesday, February 13th and Monday, December 3rd as follows:

 

                                January 10th                                           July 11th                 

                                February 13th  (Tuesday)                     August 8th            

                                March 14th                                             September 12th  

                                April 11th                                                October 10th            

                                May 9th                                                   November 14th 

                                June 13th                                                 December 3rd (Monday)

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Wroten that Daniel M. Pierce be elected as President of the Board of Trustees of the North Shore Sanitary District for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Paxton, that Stephen J. Drew be elected Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Wroten, that John R. Paxton be elected Treasurer of the North Shore Sanitary District for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Pierce and seconded by Trustee Paxton, that Dave Miller be named Deputy Treasurer of the North Shore Sanitary District for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Pierce, that Mary Jo Bryant be named Secretary of the North Shore Sanitary District for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Pierce, that Jay W. Ukena be designated Attorney of the North Shore Sanitary District for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Paxton that Anne C. Linn be designated Assistant Attorney of the North Shore Sanitary District for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Pierce and seconded by Trustee Swarthout, that incidental expenses for the Trustees be authorized for the period from December 4, 2006 to December 3, 2007, not to exceed $2,500.00 for the President and $1,000.00 for each of the other Trustees.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Pierce, that the President and Treasurer be authorized to sign all checks written for the North Shore Sanitary District on all funds pertaining to the District, and that both shall sign all checks.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Wroten, that the Annual Organizational Meeting be adjourned.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                ______________________________

                                                                                                                                       CHAIRMAN

 

 

____________________________________

                   SECRETARY

 


 

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

 

The Regular Meeting was declared in session.

 

On roll call, the following Trustees were present:

 

                                Daniel M. Pierce, President

                                Stephen J. Drew, Vice President

                                John R. Paxton, Treasurer

                                James E. Swarthout

                                Effie Wroten

                                 

 

Staff members present were General Manager Brian Dorn, Assistant General Manager Dave Miller, Attorney Jay Ukena, Director of Engineering Services Jai Gupta, Director of Laboratory Services Joe Robinson, Director of Operations Gary Sowma and Director of Technology Services Pete Russo.

 

There were no comments from the public.

 

President Pierce commented that he wanted to congratulate the current Staff and current General Manager, Brian Dorn along with past General Manager Brian Jensen on their accomplishments at the North Shore Sanitary District.  President Pierce also wanted to propose a couple of changes to consider in the future.  The first being, changing the name of the North Shore Sanitary District to North Shore Water Reclamation District to stay current with all other Water Reclamation facilities.  The second item being North Shore Sanitary District falls under the Act of 1911 and is the only District under this Act.  President Pierce thought that in the future the District might want to consider modernizing that.

 

President Pierce presented the Consent Agenda, as follows:

 

A.     Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting held on November 8, 2006.

B.     Consideration of Bills.

Wastewater Treatment Fund                                     $1,857,391.42

Check Nos. 134236, 134284 through 134340

Check Nos. 134341 through 134517

Check Nos. 134520 through 134540

Void Check No. 134303

C.     Financial Report, October 2006.

D.     Annual Listing of Official Depositories.

E.      Annexation Ordinance.

1.        Annexation No. 426, Submitted by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for approximately 23.7 acres for commercial use located at the northwest corner of the intersection of State Route 173 and County Highway 53 in the City of Zion.

 

ANNEXATION ORDINANCE

 

                WHEREAS, the property hereinafter described is contiguous to the North Shore Sanitary District, and

 

                WHEREAS, said property is not within the corporate limits of any sanitary district, and

 

                WHEREAS, within the meaning of 70 ILCS 2305/28, the NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT has power to annex the territory hereinafter described by the passage of an ordinance to that effect, and

 

                WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the citizens of the NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT to annex the property hereinafter described.

 

                NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE NORTH SHORE SANITARY DISTRICT AS FOLLOWS:

 

                SECTION 1:  That the property hereinafter described to‑wit:

 

Part of the South Half of the Northeast Quarter of Section 18, Township 46 North, Range 12 East of the Third Principal Meridian, Lake County, Illinois, described as follows:

 

Beginning at the Northeast corner of Lot B as designated upon the Plat of Westside Hills being a Planned Unit Development of part of the North Half of the Northeast Quarter and the East Half of Section 18, Township 46 North, Range 12 East of the Third Principal Meridian, the Plat of which Planned Unit Development was recorded October 7, 1991 as Document No. 3070010 in the Recorder’s Office of Lake County, Illinois, said point also being in the observed line which is 300 feet perpendicularly south of and parallel with the North line of the South Half of the Northeast Quarter of said Section 18; thence South 89 degrees 12 minutes 25 seconds East on said observed line, a distance of 1174.60 feet to the former centerline of Kenosha Road (C.H. 53); thence South 17 degrees 30 minutes 30 seconds West on the former centerline of said Kenosha Road (C.H. 53), a distance of 1059.68 feet to the observed South line of the Northeast Quarter of said Section 18; thence North 89 degrees 15 minutes 17 seconds West on the observed South line of the Northeast Quarter of said Section 18, a distance of 863.24 feet to the Southerly extension of the Easterly line of Lot C as designated upon said Plat of Westside Hills; thence North 0 degrees 25 minutes 20 seconds East on the Southerly extension of the Easterly line of said Lot C and the Easterly line of said Lots C and B as designated upon said Plat of Westside Hills, a distance of 1015.64 feet to the Point of Beginning, containing 23.747 acres.

 

be and the same is hereby annexed to the North Shore Sanitary District.

 

                SECTION 2:  If the property herein described was the subject of a sewer service agreement, that agreement is terminated as of the effective date of this Ordinance.

 

                SECTION 3:  That a certified copy of this Ordinance, together with a map of the annexed territory shall be filed with the County Clerk of Lake County, Illinois.

 

                SECTION 4:  This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and approval as provided by law.

 

F.      Press Articles.

1.        Waukegan News Sun.

i.                     ‘Sludge-drying project key issue in NSSD race’, 11/4-5/06.

ii.                   ‘Narrow win for Paxton’, 11/08/06.

iii.                  Zion odors not from us, NSSD says’, 11/11-12/06.

iv.                 ‘Awful odor’, Talk of the County, 11/06/06.

v.                   ‘Just the facts’, Talk of the County, 11/17/06.

vi.                 ‘Stench complaint’, Talk of the County, 11/21/06.

vii.                ‘Still stinking’, Talk of the County, 11/25-26/06.

G.     Authorize Payroll and Finance Department to issue District checks to meet expenses where necessary for payroll and to avoid interest and/or penalties before the next Board Meeting.

 

It was moved by Trustee Drew and seconded by Trustee Swarthout, that the items under the Consent Agenda be approved.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

General Manager Dorn presented the Management Report as follows:

 

A.      Zion Township Landfill Sludge Recycling Facility Monthly Status Report.

 

General Manager Dorn reported that one of two delumpers for the Melter was scheduled to ship today and was expected to arrive on Wednesday, December 6, 2006.  General Manager Dorn reported he expected the Melter to be fully running in the next couple of weeks after which the 120 hour run would take place.  General Manager Dorn reported that VATECH would be back on site in the next few weeks to make further adjustments and refinements to the dryer.

 

General Manager Dorn reported that meetings with J.J. Henderson have continued in order to resolve the outstanding contractual issues.  The District is discussing with J.J. Henderson the outstanding change orders and new change orders submitted after contract termination.

 

General Manager Dorn reported that Item B shows the breakdown of all the costs pertaining to the contractors for the month of November.

 

 

B.       Zion Township Landfill Sludge Recycling Facility Payment Authorizations.

1.        Independent Mechanical, $22,425.53.

2.        Air Design Systems, $15,763.11.

3.     Designed Equipment Corp., $400.00.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Drew to authorize payment to Independent Mechanical in the amount of $22,425.53.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Drew to authorize payment to Air Design Systems, in the amount of $15,763.11.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Paxton to authorize payment to Designed Equipment Corp., in the amount of $400.00.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

C.       Presented the following Engineering Agreement.

1.     STS Consultants, Ltd., for Monitoring Well A104 Chloride Evaluation, $2,970.00.

 

General Manager Dorn reported that Monitoring Well A104 has been contaminated with what he believes is road salt run-off.  In order to confirm this belief there is a need for additional documentation to be provided to IEPA and is requesting approval for STS Consultants to provide this documentation.

 

It was moved by Trustee Drew and seconded by Trustee Paxton to approve the Engineering Agreement with STS Consultants, Ltd., for Monitoring Well A104 Chloride Evaluation in the amount of $2,970.00.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

D.      Presented the following Engineering Agreement Amendment.

1.     STS Consultants, Ltd., Melter Air Compliance Support, Contract Amendment No. 2, $5,000.00.

 

The amendment is to provide for additional ongoing compliance support related to the emissions testing requirements of the IEPA Bureau of Air permit.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Swarthout to approve Engineering Agreement Amendment for STS Consultants, Ltd., Melter Air Compliance Support, Contract Amendment No. 2, in the amount of $5,000.00.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

E.       Employee Holiday Gifts.

 

General Manager Dorn stated that for the last six years the District gave each employee a $100.00 “net” check accompanied by a letter of gratitude from the Board of Trustees and the General Manager.  A separate payroll was run each of the last six years using the “Gross-Up” method by which checks are calculated using federal and state supplemental withholding rates.  General Manager Dorn said it is the Board’s discretion to grant the Holiday Gift this year.

 

It was moved by Jim Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Paxton to approve an Employee Holiday Gift in the “net” amount of $100.00.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted "Aye".  Motion declared carried.

 

F.     Distributed copies of the FY08 CIP/O&M Budget Timeline for informational purposes.

 

Assistant General Manager Miller gave the Administration Division report as follows:

 

A.      Presented Worker’s Compensation Audit for Policy Year 12/15/0412/15/05 for informational purposes.

 

Assistant General Manager Miller reported that an audit was conducted by the Illinois Public Risk Fund on April 4, 2006 for the District Worker’s Compensation Insurance covering the period of December 15, 2004 through December 15, 2005.  The original audit found that the District underestimated its payroll resulting in the District owing the Illinois Public Risk Fund $8,901.00.

 

The District disputed the findings.  Upon recommendation of Brad West of West’s Insurance Agency, on July 12, 2006, the NSSD Board authorized an inspection by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) to correctly classify District employees.  An inspection was conducted on August 22, 2006 resulting in the reclassification of certain employee positions.

 

The Illinois Public Risk Fund has found that the District over-estimated its payroll for this time period resulting in a credit to the District.  Accordingly, the Illinois Public Risk Fund has issued a check to the District for $7,766.00.

 

Assistant General Miller and Staff were commended for their efforts in this matter and the reclassification of certain positions resulting in an asset to the District.

 

B.    Presented Workers Compensation and Public Official’s Bond (President) Renewal.

 

Assistant General Manager Miller introduced Brad West, West’s Insurance Agency, Inc. to present Worker’s Compensation and Public Official’s Bond (President) renewals.  Mr. West presented for approval a renewal quotation on the District’s workers compensation coverage for the 12/15/06 to 12/15/07 renewal term. Various insurance companies were asked to provide a renewal quotation with only one response which was from the Illinois Public Risk Fund, NSSD’s current carrier. The Illinois Public Risk Fund has quoted a renewal premium of $201,133.  The renewal quotation is an increase of 9.6% over the expiring premium. . In addition, Mr. West stated the Illinois Public Risk Fund is providing the District with a $15,900 grant which is available in June 2007 to be used for the promotion of workplace safety.

 

Mr. West is seeking authorization as NSSD’s agent to renew the proposed worker’s compensation coverage effective 12/15/06 with Illinois Public Risk Fund at the renewal premium of $201,133 and the Public Official’s Bond (President) Renewal effective 12/6/06.

 

It was moved by Trustee Paxton and seconded by Trustee Swarthout to approve authorizing Mr. West, West’s Insurance Agency, Inc. as NSSD’s agent to renew the proposed worker’s compensation coverage effective 12/15/06-12/15/07 with Illinois Public Risk Fund at the renewal premium of $201,133 and Public Official’s Bond (President) Renewal effective 12/6/06, as presented.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

C.       Presented Utilization of Septic Haulers at Trumpet Park.

 

Assistant General Manager Miller reported that the District is currently evaluating alternatives for the removal of sewage from the FedEx facility prior to the scheduled completion of the Trumpet Park interim pumping station and forcemain next fall.

 

Currently, two of the District’s permitted septic haulers are under special, Board approved delinquent payment agreements.  A brief summary follows:

 

Roy Dupree Sewer Service – Signed agreement in May of 2006.  Has made all required payments on time and has reduced outstanding balance from $3900 to $2200.

 

James A. Casselberry & Son – Signed agreement in November of 2005.  Made payments off and on through July 2006, reducing outstanding balance from $22,000 to $10,000.  Has not made payments since July 20th.  Outstanding balance now $17,000.  NSSD suspended their dumping permit on 9/19/06 due to their defaulting on the payment agreement and failing to respond to an enforcement investigation.

 

It was suggested that we allow these entities an opportunity to “work off their debt.”  Each has been contacted and is receptive to and appreciative for this potential opportunity.  The District’s legal counsel has reviewed applicable state law concerning bidding requirements and does not have any legal reservations about the District contracting directly with these entities to haul waste on an “as needed basis.”

 

Note that Casselberry has been told that they must resolve the pending enforcement investigation prior to being eligible for any release of their suspension.  To the extent that the enforcement investigation is resolved favorable, it is recommended that Casselberry be granted a temporary permit that limits their disposal privileges to sewage from the FedEx location, exclusively, until such time that their outstanding balance is eliminated.

 

It was moved by Trustee Swarthout and seconded by Trustee Paxton to authorize the Staff to establish a fair rate and contract directly with Dupree and Casselberry for the removal and disposal of sewage from the FedEx facility located in Trumpet Park until such time as their outstanding debts are extinguished or construction of the interim pumping station and force main is completed.

 

On roll call, all Trustees present voted “Aye”.  Motion declared carried.

 

Director of Engineering Services Gupta reported as follows:

 

A.      Presented the following bid summary.

1.     20” Check Valve Replacement at North Chicago (PS4) and Upper Skokie Valley (PS5) Pump Stations, Martin Petersen Company of Kenosha, WI in the amount of $181,584.00.

 

Director of Engineering Services Gupta reported that on November 13, 2006 an Official Notice to Bidders was published in the Waukegan News-Sun and was sent to thirty-six (36) potential contractors.

 

On November 27, 2006 at 11:00 A.M., bids were publicly opened and read aloud with the following responses:

 

                                Contractor                                             Bid Proposal

 

                Martin Petersen Company                                  $ 181,584.00

                Ernie Peterson Plumbing