I want to emphasize that this post and the ones that will follow are not official communications of the LCPWD Board, but merely an account of my own thoughts and impressions as I take on a new role in public service.
After the Lake County Board approved my appointment, I checked in with Mr. Brent Paxton, the District 4 Board Member who had asked me if I would fill the trustee vacancy, to see what the next step would be. He told me that I should expect a letter from the County Board confirming my appointment, along with a copy of the resolution. A similar letter would be sent to the Public Water District, and then they would take over the process of my orientation and so forth.
Just for reference, that information was given to me on June 12, and as of this writing, that letter hasn't yet arrived. In my conversations with Mr. Paxton prior to my acceptance he had asked if I wanted to speak with the Board Chairman about the Trustee position. I declined to do so because I wanted to approach the position, and the process without preconceptions. Keep these points in mind as we move on.
The following Saturday, I took a bike ride to the lakefront, and as part of my route I decided to scout out the location of the filtration plant. I also discovered something interesting when you plug the plant address into Google Earth.
The Google map centers on the water intake pump station at the lake shore, you have actually pan out to see the plant itself, which in the image above is on the upper left side of the picture. So now I knew where the plant was. Surprisingly, or maybe not if you think about it, almost everyone that I have spoken to about the Public Water District were unaware of it's existence, or the location of the filtration plant.
Looking at the published meeting schedule on the District website lcpwd.com, I saw that the next meeting was set for June 18, at 5:30 pm. I decided to attend as an observer since I hadn't received my official notification yet. I arranged to catch an early train home, which arrived in Zion at about 5:23 pm, and drove directly from the station to the plant on 17th Street.
For security reasons, the plant is fenced and gated to prevent unauthorized access to the facility. I pulled up to the gate and pressed the call button. A woman's voice answered, asking if I needed help, and I told her that I was there for the Board meeting. I think there was a little surprise in her voice, but she told me to come on in, and the automated gate started to open. I pulled in, parked, walked up to the entrance and rang the call box at the entrance. She answered, and told me to come upstairs as the door buzzed open.
I followed her directions up to the second floor, and was met at the office entrance by a gentleman who introduced himself as Arlyn Albrecht, the General Manager. I gave him my name, and he asked me to sign in on the visitor's book, and if there was a particular issue I wanted to speak to the Board about. The District, like all public bodies subject to the Open Meetings Act, have time built into the agenda for public comment
I told him that I had been appointed to the Board the previous week and I just wanted to introduce myself and observe the meeting if I could. He was genuinely surprised, because they hadn't received any notification from the County Board that a new Trustee had even been appointed!
He then led me down the hall, to the conference room, and introduced me to the assembly as the newly appointed member. There was a moment's pause, while everyone processed the news, and then Mr. Topcik, the Chairman welcomed me and asked if I would mind giving a brief background of myself and how I came to be appointed. I did so, with apologies for parachuting into their meeting in such a fashion. He then asked each person to introduce themselves. The Trustees present were; Douglas Jaeger (Vice Chairman), Michael Ruchti, Amos Monk, and Dorothy Mitchell. Trustee Richard Moe was absent. Also present were the previously mentioned General Manager Al Albrecht, Operations Manager Don White, District Attorney Dan Kucera, and District Secretary Karen Johnston (who had been on the intercom), also present was Mr. M. David Cain from the accounting firm of Milburn Cain & Company. Mr. Cain was there to present the audit report for the fiscal year that ended April 30th. I was given a seat at the conference table and the office copy of the meeting agenda and the supporting documentation, the normal order of business then proceeded.
I think that it was very fortunate timing that I was present for this particular meeting wherein the financial report was presented and the setting of the delivery rate for the 2014 fiscal year. Mr. Topcik pointed out that the District is a non-profit operation, and the rate charged is calculated based on the projected costs for operations and maintenance. After the presentation of the financial report, there were discussions of ongoing projects; concerning the raw water intake pipe that extends 3000 feet out into Lake Michigan, warranty repairs to painting that had been done inside one of the clarifier tanks, and a project to remove and prevent the rusting of stainless steel components in the tanks.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Don White took me for a tour of the facility and gave me a short course on the water filtration process along with some of the operational and logistic background information.
I must say even though my appearance was unexpected everyone involved was very gracious and helpful, and I learned quite a bit in a short period of time. One item in particular caught my attention; the erosion of sand around the water intake pipe requires the installation of supporting structures called bents to ensure that the pipe isn't undermined and compromised. If the pipe is breached along it's length there could be a severe reduction in the water flow to the plant, and that would be a major problem!
In the next installment, I think I'll delve deeper into the intake pipe project, with an overview of the engineering required, and the process that is currently underway to obtain the proper permits to carry out the work on Lake Michigan.
For those of you reading this, if you have a question or a comment, feel free to submit it through the comment section below, or email me at fischerforzion@gmail.com .
