TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF JULY 15, 2021
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. Brian A. Perkovich, Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement with Chen, Garner & Stevens Partners, LLC d/b/a Eureka Water Probes, to furnish and deliver water quality meters and accessories in an amount not to exceed $70,408.73, Account 101-16000- 634970, Requisition 1564525
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with Chen, Garner & Stevens Partners, LLC d/b/a Eureka Water Probes (Eureka) to furnish and deliver ten (10) Manta+35 deployable water quality meters and accessories to the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant. All items will be delivered within six weeks after the purchase order is awarded.
The water quality meters are used by the Monitoring and Research Department’s Aquatic Ecology Section in the Continuous Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring (CDOM) Program, which is required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits and consent decree of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District). In addition, the data collected from this program supports ongoing projects, such as the Lake Michigan Discretionary Diversion Optimization. Additionally, these water quality meters are used for real-time water quality monitoring at some of the CDOM monitoring stations equipped with a telemetry system which was designed and configured to use Eureka instruments.
The new equipment will replace instruments that are currently older than their expected service life of ten (10) years. These older water quality meters are increasingly expensive to maintain and will eventually stop being supported.
Eureka, the manufacturer and sole source of supply, has submitted pricing for the water quality meters required. Inasmuch as Eureka Water Probes is the only source of supply for the Manta+35 water quality meters, said purchase order may be issued without competitive bidding pursuant to Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act.
Eureka is not registered to transact business in the State of Illinois but has submitted a certificate of good standing from the State of Texas. The Director of Monitoring and Research has given approval to move forward with this vendor.
The Multi-Project Labor Agreement is not applicable to this contract because it is primarily a furnish and deliver contract.
In view of the foregoing, it is requested that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue said purchase order and enter into an agreement with Chen, Garner & Stevens Partners, LLC d/b/a Eureka Water Probes in an amount not to exceed $70,408.73.
Funds are available in Account 101-16000-634970.
Requested, Edward W. Podczerwinski, Director of Monitoring and Research, EWP:RA:HZ:JV:kq
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 July 15, 2021