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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF ELIZABETH ("LIZ") MILLAN
WHEREAS, Ms. Elizabeth ("Liz") Millan will be retiring from her position as the Director of the Landscape Maintenance department - the Forest Preserves of Cook County's largest department - on December 31, 2021. Ms. Millan served the Forest Preserves and this department for seven years, first as Deputy Director for four years and then as Director for three years. She is the first female director of this department and simultaneously served as Interim Director of the Facilities and Fleet department for a time; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Millan provided a combined forty-one years of public service in the Parks and Recreation field to the Chicago Park District and Forest Preserves of Cook County with too many accomplishments over her tenure to capture all of these in this document but include developing and implementing a Landscape Maintenance Field Operations and Equipment Training Manual which includes mandatory training on biodiversity, first aid/CPR, heat stress safety, highway mowing, defensive driving, and equipment maintenance; developing a successful internal commercial driver's license training program for Landscape Maintenance staff instructed by certified staff members; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Millan expanded Landscape Maintenance operations by creating the Beautification Crew that helps reduce the carbon footprint at the aquatic centers and several maintenance divisions with in-house native plant designs, and the Pavement Preservation Crew to reduce capital improvement expenses; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Millan chaired the Green Sustainability Committee's Zero Waste Cross-Departmental Working Group in 2018 which goals were to increase waste diversion rates, increase recycling and composting initiatives, and overall support material re-use strategies, all designed to help the Forest Preserves reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Millan represented the Forest Preserv...
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