TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 4, 2014
COMMITTEE ON Procurement
Mr. David St. Pierre, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement with Sustainable Generation LLC, to furnish and deliver rental services of GORE Cover technology, in an amount not to exceed $49,500.00, Account 101-16000-612490, Requisition 1383891
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with Sustainable Generation LLC (SG), to furnish and deliver rental services of GORE® Cover technology (GORE). This purchase order will expire on April 15, 2015.
The purpose of this project is to conduct an on-site, pilot-scale evaluation of GORE to produce biosolids compost at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant. The SG is the only authorized supplier of GORE in the United States. GORE is the fully integrated Aerated Static Pile composting system. The feedstock is placed on perforated piping, which provides air circulation for controlled aeration, and the composting takes place in covered windrows. GORE can produce consistently high quality compost and effectively control odors and emissions during the composting process.
GORE is proven for producing biosolids composts and has been adopted by many municipalities to produce Class A composted biosolids. However, in order to determine if this technology will be suitable for adoption by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District), we need to evaluate it at our solids management sites to ensure that it will work with our feedstock (biosolids and bulking materials) and produce a marketable product. For GORE, centrifuge cake is commonly used as a feedstock rather than in the form of the lower solids content biosolids like those from the District's low solids lagoons. Therefore, the pilot-scale evaluation will be done to evaluate the following:
1. Determine if low solids biosolids would work to produce compost with this technology and to determine the optimum solids content of low solids biosolids to produce compost efficiently and cost effectively. This information is critical, as the majority of District biosolids are in the form of low solids.
2. Determine the compost quality in terms of appearance, nutrient content, and maturity/stability to ensure marketability of the final product. Woodchips are the only bulking material currently used for the open windrow composting done at the District's biosolids drying sites. Based on our past experience at the District's drying sites, the compost produced by using woodchips takes a long time to mature to good quality compost. The effectiveness of GORE in producing good quality compost for these woodchips is uncertain.
The evaluation period is six months, and the total costs of the evaluation will be $49,500.00. The cost includes delivery and installation of a demonstration system, training District staff to operate the system, and decommissioning of the system. The proposed evaluation will begin October 15, 2014, and will conclude April 15, 2015, with the final evaluation results provided to the District.
SG, the sole-service provider to furnish and deliver rental services of GORE, has submitted pricing for the services and equipment required. Inasmuch as SG is the only source of supply for the services and equipment required, nothing would be gained by advertising for bids (Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act).
SG is not registered to transact business in Illinois, but has submitted a certificate of good standing from the State of Delaware. The Department of Procurement and Materials Management has received approval from the Executive Director to move forward with the recommendation to award.
The Multi-Project Labor Agreement is not applicable due to the specialized nature of the services required.
In view of the foregoing, it is recommended that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with SG, in an amount not to exceed $49,500.00.
Funds are available in Account 101-16000-612490.
Requested, Thomas C. Granato, Director of Monitoring and Research, TCG:MPC:KB:mh/jvs
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Barbara J. McGowan, Chairman Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for September 4, 2014