TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF JULY 7, 2016
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. David St. Pierre, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to conduct four years of research on the use of perennial riparian grass buffer strip at the Fulton County site in an amount not to exceed $207,800.00, Account 101-16000-612430, Requisition 1424756 (As Revised)
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), according to the terms and conditions of the Master Agreement, to conduct four years of research on the use of perennial riparian grass buffer strip at the Fulton County site to reduce nutrient loss from agricultural fields. The project is part of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago’s (District) nutrient loss reduction initiative, which is aimed at establishing a partnership between the point source sector and the agricultural sector to develop and implement best management practices to reduce nutrient loss from agricultural land. The project will also evaluate the likelihood of adoption of the grass buffer strip by farmers, as a practice to contribute to achieving the goals of the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Adoption of best management practices, such as grass buffer strips by farmers in Illinois, could potentially reduce the burden on the District to reduce nutrient loads discharged from our water reclamation plants for meeting statewide nutrient reduction goals.
The principal investigators for this project will be Professor Dokyoung (D. K.) Lee, Professor Thomas Voigt, and Mr. Gary Letterly, in the Department of Crop Sciences at the UIUC. They are best suited to conduct this work because the team members are nationally recognized experts in the research and use of multifunctional grasses for nutrient removal and other environmental benefits. Professor Voigt has previously made significant contributions to the District’s biosolids program through increasing acceptance of biosolids as a substitute for fertilizers for turf grass in the Chicago metropolitan area.
The UIUC is a non-profit educational institution and is therefore not required to register with the state of Illinois.
The Multi-Project Labor Agreement is not applicable due to the specialized nature of the services required.
Inasmuch as the UIUC possesses a high degree of professional skill, it is recommended that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement without advertising, per Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act, in an amount not to exceed $207,800.00.
Funds for the 2016 expenditure, in the amount of $48,783.00, are available in Account 101-16000-612430. The estimated expenditures for 2017 is $50,302.00, 2018 is $53,518.00, and 2019 is $55,197.00. Funds for the 2017-2019 expenditures are contingent on the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budgets for those years.
Requested, Thomas C. Granato, Director of Monitoring and Research, TCG:MPC:KB:LH:GT:cm
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 July 7, 2016