Meeting comes to order at 10:41 AM. Time is given for public commentary and there were no requests for public comments. Approval of previous board meeting minutes from July 14 2022. No recess and they directly convene as a committee of the whole.

Items to discuss include agenda items 9 and 33: which refer to 9) annual membership due payments and 33) contracting repair and alterations to water reclamation facilities in groups A, B, and C to independent mechanical industries.

Regarding Item 9, Commissioner Garcia commends recent programs and urges to make sure all companies have been registered so they can be entered for procurement and diversity purposes. He has been informed that the district can’t do grants or programming with community groups.

Garcia questions if they would be able to do solicitation for membership/participation fees so they are able to do good community programming.

Director Perkovich states they can explore those ideas and asks for examples. Commissioner Garcia suggests programming with LVEJO or Blue Island Neighborhood Network, and other community groups to partner with participation fees to do more locally.

“The more you do with local organizations, the more you can achieve.” There is currently more than $1M as part of next year’s budget, Garcia would like to explore what Commissioners Davis and Morita have done by setting $ aside for local involvement thru events/participation.

Regarding Item 33 (contracting repair and alterations to water reclamation facilities in groups A, B, and C to independent mechanical industries): Spyropoulos asks Director Perkovich to talk about the form of the item since brought forward again from a previous agenda.

Perkovich explains that the previous item was initially for a larger amount with 1 contractor. After discussion, they made the decision to split it up into 3 groups based on geography and was bid out separately.

Items to discuss in the Executive Session: Spyropoulos requests to discuss minutes closed under the Open Meetings Act.

Item 4 is read in separately and required another roll call to approve transit expenses for Board of Commissioners for $3,034. Time is given for the second public comment period, with no requests for comments. The board enters 5 minute Recess then the Executive Session.

After resuming the session, Items 1-52 on the agenda are read and passed. In other news, the Public Affairs Office is congratulated for being highlighted in Diversity in Action magazine for the children’s storybook and animation called ‘Where does IT Go’.

Additional announcements include: August is National Water Quality Month. There will be a land use study session held next Thursday August 18th.

In terms of new business, Commissioner Perry congratulates the Public Affairs team, Stickney staff and everyone who helped for nutrient stewardship field day and for all the work being done for nutrient recovery loss.

Commissioner Garcia encourages people to participate in the land use study session next week and is excited to host a business roundtable for Hispanic Heritage Month in September. He will also be attending the Bud Billiken Day parade.

At this time there were no requests for public comment. Next meeting is on Thursday September 1 2022. Meeting adjourns at 11:32 PM.