RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF JULY 17, 2025
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RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing Team MWRD’s Outstanding Performance in the Active Transportation Alliance’s 2025 Bike Commuter Challenge
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WHEREAS, the Active Transportation Alliance sponsored the annual Bike Commuter Challenge from Tuesday, May 27, to Monday, June 23, 2025, to encourage new and experienced cyclists to share the benefits of commuting to work via bicycle; and
WHEREAS, 35 employees of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) accepted the Bike Commuter Challenge this year; and
WHEREAS, the following employees:
Michael Ahrens Tom Hacker Phillip Newberg
George Aygar Elaine Harris Colin Reilly
John Bachtell Tracy Ito Josue Rodriguez
Christopher Belz Phillip Keeku Steve Schwartz
Robert Burns Sean Kelly Patrick Sendera
Jennifer Burns Lynn Kohlhaas Tom Sinickas
Jorge Camarena Jeffrey Kowar Lou Storino
Joe Cook David Kukulka Patrick Thomas
Brendan Dailey Joe Loscuito Stefanie Urian
Nathan Eatman Noel Maldonado Dan Wendt
Kevin Fitzpatrick Meagan Matias Frederick Wu
Moriah Gelder Anthony Melo
participated, either using their bicycles for transportation to or from work, or using their bicycles as a means to access other forms of public transportation, and faithfully recorded their trips and mileage for the purposes of the competition; and
WHEREAS, Thomas Hacker, Emergency Planning Program Coordinator, and Frederick Wu, Principal Civil Engineer, served as captain and co-captain for Team MWRD, following in the footsteps of founding captain Tom Liston and past captain Peter Monko, leading Team MWRD to success; and
WHEREAS, Robert Burns led Team MWRD with 481 miles traveled, Jennifer Burns was second with 315.7 miles, Christopher Belz in third with 283 miles, plus an honorable mention of Joe Cook with 252.6 miles; and
WHEREAS, Team MWRD logged 2,809.89 miles, ranking second out of 16 teams in the “Public Agency” category, and fifth overall out of over 100 participating teams across the Chicago region, placing behind teams from Northwestern University, SRAM, Rush University Medical Center, and Cook County Health; and
WHEREAS, using an average of 21 miles per gallon, approximately 133.80 gallons of gasoline were saved by District staff choosing bikes over motor vehicles; and
WHEREAS, using an average of 20 lbs of carbon dioxide (CO2) per gallon of gas, approximately 2,676.09 lbs. of CO2 were not emitted to the atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, using an average of 700 calories per hour of riding, MWRD employees burned over 131,128.2 calories; and
WHEREAS, those who participated should be commended for keeping with the MWRD’s Strategic Plan as follows: Resource Management by protecting public health; Workforce Excellence by promoting a healthy lifestyle; Community Engagement by being environmentally friendly; Enterprise Resilience by helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
WHEREAS, Team MWRD’s outstanding performance in the Active Transportation Alliance’s 2025 Bike Commuter Challenge is a worthy reminder of MWRD’s commitment to excellence and to environmental sustainability; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby congratulate the members of Team MWRD, salute them for their energy and efforts, and encourage more people to join Team MWRD for next year’s Bike Commuter Challenge; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent record of proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated July 17, 2025