MINUTES OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING DESPLAINES VALLEY MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT MARCH 20, 2025 The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by Ms. Henry at 8:07am in the board room at 8130 Ogden Avenue, Lyons, IL. Trustees Present: Reatha S. Henry - President Mark S. Azzi - Vice President, Treasurer Tito Rodriguez - Secretary Absent: A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to accept the minutes of the last regular meeting held on December 6, 2024 as typed. The financial report was reviewed by the trustees. A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to accept the report as follows: Financial Report Income for Current Fiscal Year Replacement of Corporate Personal Prop. Taxes $ 121,660.19 Back Taxes Received 19,071.51 Interest Received 86,757.89 Miscellaneous Income 107,892.76 Total 2023 Taxes Received after 5/1/24 793,226.92 Deferred Income (Early Taxes 2024) 798,286.39 Bills - Monthly Totals December 2024 $ 421,697.76 January 55,026.73 February 159,144.92 March (Thru 3/20) 108,927.98 PAYROLL December 2024 $ 57,082.50 January 49,019.30 February 51,362.80 March (Thru 3/20) 41,292.05 Page 2 The formal nomination/election of trustee officers for 2025 was held. A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to retain the current slate of officers until additional trustees are appointed to the board. The manager indicated that no new information is available on the appointment of additional trustees. The manager indicated that specifications were prepared and proposals requested from auditing firms specializing in governmental fund accounting to conduct the upcoming 4/30/25 fiscal year audit. The majority of firms contacted expressed no interest in submitting a proposal, or were not engaging new clients. The District did receive four proposals with final projected costs summarized below: ATA Group LLP, Arlington Heights, IL ........................ $ 16,500 Prado & Renteria, Chicago, IL ............................... 21,100 John Kasperek Company, Inc, Calumet City, IL ................ 23,000 Eisneramper, Elgin, IL ...................................... 25,000 The manager reviewed the individual proposals and itemized costs yielding the final summary amounts. All firms have experience in governmental fund accounting with current municipal clients. All firms are fully and equally qualified to conduct our audit. General consensus was that the proposal submitted by ATA Group met District criteria at the lowest submitted cost. A motion was made by Mr. Rodriguez, seconded by Mr. Azzi, and carried by all present to award the contract for the 4/30/25 fiscal year audit to ATA Group, LLP at the cost of $16,500. The manager reviewed insurance quotations received from Schulz-Brundage for all coverage due to expire on May 1, 2025. All renewal policies will remain at current limits and carry over all applicable endorsements for our operations. With the exception of Public Officials/Employment Practices coverage which is underwritten by United States Liability, all other coverage will remain with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. A premium summary follows: Automobile ................................................ $ 55,533.00 Property .................................................. 5,482.00 Equipment Floater ......................................... 1,366.00 Public Officials .......................................... 1,973.00 Employment Practices ...................................... 390.00 General Liability ......................................... 18,983.00 Environmental Liability ................................... 13,758.00 Umbrella .................................................. 10,896.00 Cyber Security Liability .................................. 40.00 The combined renewal premiums reflect a 10.3% increase over the prior year. A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to renew all existing insurance coverage due to expire on May 1, 2025 with Schulz-Brundage Insurance. The manager indicated that it has been 10 years since the District completed a replacement cost insurance valuation of its buildings. The purpose of this valuation is to verify sufficient coverage limits on our buildings. Page 3 Proposals were requested from firms to complete the replacement cost appraisal with summary as follows: Appraisal Systems, Park Ridge, IL ...................... $ 2,400.00 ComPro Consultants, LLC, Wheaton, IL ................... 2,000.00 Industrial Appraisal Company, OakBrook, IL ............. 2,880.00 The manager reviewed the individual proposals. General consensus was that the proposal submitted by Appraisal Systems for $ 2,400.00 best met District needs. Although the proposal is not the lowest submitted, the experience of the appraisal firm along with MAI designation of appraiser offsets the minor additional cost. A motion was made by Mr. Rodriguez, seconded by Mr. Azzi, and carried by all present to engage the services of Appraisal Systems to complete the requested replacement cost valuation for the sum of $ 2,400.00. A review of the preliminary 2025-26 budget/appropriation figures was made. Respective line item increases/decreases were reviewed. The figures will reflect no increase to the corresponding tax levy. A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to incorporate the preliminary figures into the upcoming budget/appropriation ordinance. The manager reviewed provisions of the ”Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance” established in 2018 and amended in 2024. The ordinance provides Paid Time Off as a benefit provided by an employer to an employee allowing job-protected absences from work for a given number of hours, and compensating the absent employee for these hours as if they were not absent from work. District permanent employees have a paid leave policy in place, and are not included in the county ordinance. Seasonal employees were originally considered exempt due to the limited seasonal duration of employment. Ordinance revisions will now include seasonal employees. A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to adopt the following: ORDINANCE NO. 2025-3-1 SEASONAL EMPLOYEE PAID TIME OFF POLICY AN ORDINANCE of the Board of Trustees of the Desplaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District establishing a paid time off policy for seasonal employees effective April 1, 2025. WHEREAS, the “Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance” enacted on July 1, 2018, with subsequent amendments on March 14, 2024 and October 24, 2024 provides Paid Time Off as a benefit provided by an employer to an employee allowing job-protected absences from work for a given number of hours, and compensating the absent employee for these hours as if they were not absent from work. WHEREAS, District employees classified as permanent have a paid leave policy that provides at least 40 hours of paid leave to be used for any reason with no additional paid leave to be provided by this Ordinance; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE DESPLAINES VALLEY MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICT, COUNTY OF COOK, STATE OF ILLINOIS: Page 4 SECTION 1: A paid time off policy is hereby established for seasonal employees to maintain compliance by the District of the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance. Seasonal employees are classified as employees employed by the District typically from April 1 - October 15 with a maximum employment duration of 1,000 hours. SECTION 2: All seasonal employees who have been employed by the District for at least 30 calendar days are eligible for paid time off. Compensation for paid time off will be at the employee’s regular pay rate and subject to all applicable withholding taxes. The amount of paid time off will be based on the employee’s specified end date as follows: Employee End Date per Application Paid Time Off Allowed August 1 - August 31 2 days (16 hours) September 1 - September 30 3 days (24 hours) Employees who are available for employment beyond their original end date as indicated on their application, will be eligible for additional paid time off corresponding to above outlined criteria. Employees employed by the District past September 30 will accrue one (1) hour of paid time off for every 40 hours worked. SECTION 3: Paid time off absences will not impact an employee’s eligibility for the sign-on bonus program established by Ordinance No. 2021-12-3. Paid time off must be taken in increments of at least two (2) hours. Reasonable notification is required when requesting paid time off as outlined in the Absence section of the Seasonal Employee Personnel Information Handbook issued to employees upon start of employment each year. If an employee uses paid time off during work hours designated as time-and-a-half or double time, the District will compensate only at the employee’s regular hourly rate. Paid time off may not be used by employees placed on suspension for disciplinary reasons. SECTION 4: The District provides a service critical to public health, safety, and welfare of its residents. To maintain adequate staff for operational needs, and due to the unpredictable nature of a mosquito season, paid time off may be denied during crucial periods of mosquito surveillance and control. In such cases, employees may be required to take their paid time off at a later date. SECTION 5: Unused paid time off does not accrue/carry over to future seasonal employment with the District. Any unused paid time off remaining at the end of seasonal employment will be paid to the employee at their regular hourly pay rate subject to all applicable withholding taxes. Compensation will be issued with the final paycheck for the season. SECTION 6: The provisions of this Ordinance will become effective on April 1, 2025. PASSED by the Board of Trustees of the Desplaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District this 20th day of March, 2025, A.D. pursuant to roll call vote as follows: Ayes: 3 Nays: 0 Absent: 0 Page 5 APPROVED this 20th day of March, 2025, A.D. Reatha S. Henry President, Board of Trustees Tito Rodriguez Secretary, Board of Trustees The manager indicated that William Medlock, our Mechanic, is planning on retiring in February 2026. He started with the District as a seasonal employee in 1987, and became a permanent employee in 1989. Due to the evolution of duties over time, the position will now be classified as Vehicle, Facility, and Equipment Technician. A current job description is being finalized. Authorization is requested to advertise/hire on his replacement at this time to allow the new employee ample time to work Mr. Medlock and experience position requirements. The new employee will be under 6 month probation, and classified as a seasonal employee. The starting hourly rate during will be $35.00/hr. Upon satisfactory completion of probation, permanent employee status will be granted with increase to $40/hr plus applicable benefits. A motion was made by Mr. Rodriguez, seconded by Mr. Azzi, and carried by all present to grant the requested authorization to address the pending vacancy. The manager reviewed the fuel dispenser containment upgrade project initiated last fall. All construction aspects have been completed, however environmental issues still require resolution. As part of the upgrade project, the District was required to retain the services of an environmental firm to complete an assessment of soil adjacent to removed petroleum piping. The assessment revealed minor contamination under the existing gas pumps. This discovery requires additional testing/reports submitted to the IEPA/State Fire Marshal for their consideration. Proposals for the additional work were requested from the following firms who also submitted a proposal for the initial assessment: Northwest Environmental, Byron, IL ...................... $ 16,849.38 Eagle Environmental, St. Charles, IL .................... $ 11,700.00 Eagle Environmental was selected to complete the additional testing and subsequent reports. This testing was completed in early January with results showing no further soil contamination. All required documents have been submitted to the IEPA/State Fire Marshal for their review to determine what level of environmental clean up will be required. Their decision is expected by June. The District applied for and was approved for reimbursement of all clean up costs exceeding $5,000.00. The above secondary environmental assessment cost will be included in addition to any future expenditures. It is anticipated that test wells will be required around our tank/dispensers with monitoring for a year before formal closure of this environmental incident. Page 6 Completion of the construction phase of the above project resulted in damage to a portion of our asphalt parking lot surrounding the new dispensers. This damage was anticipated, and is being addressed independently. Specifications were prepared and proposals requested from asphalt contractors for the required repair as summarized: Accu-Paving Company, Broadview, IL ......................... $ 2,800.00 Rose Paving, LLC, Streamwood, IL ........................... 2,995.00 Newline Paving Services, Downers Grove, IL ................. 4,500.00 Maul Paving, Sealcoat, Concrete, Plainfield, IL ............ 5,000.00 Professional Paving & Concrete, Glen Ellyn, IL ............. 8,425.00 A motion was made by Mr. Rodriguez, seconded by Mr. Azzi, and carried by all present to award the contract to Accu-Paving Company for the sum of $2,800.00. The manager reviewed pending legislation impacting mosquito abatement districts. In particular HB1596 and HB2725 are of consideration. The manager reviewed respective bill details and combined efforts with the North Shore MAD and Roosevelt Group to address desired changes. A motion was made by Mr. Azzi, seconded by Mr. Rodriguez, and carried by all present to adjourn the meeting at 9:00am. Approved this day of , 2025. Reatha S. Henry, President Tito Rodriguez, Secretary