SUBJECT: CONSENT AGENDA
Title
A Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Erie Authorizing A Payment in the Amount of $681,700 for the Purchase of Water Meters from National Meter and Automation
Body
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Todd Fessenden, Director of Public Works
FISCAL INFORMATION:
Cost as Recommended: $378,900, $302,800
Balance Available: $378,900, $302,800
Budget Line Item Number: 500-70-110-603000-100001, 500-70-110-603000-100002
New Appropriation Required: No
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve Resolution authorizing payments and authorizing staff to expend said funds.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The 2020 Capital Budget includes funds for purchase of new and replacement water meters. At the January 26, 2016 Board of Trustees meeting, the Board directed staff to upgrade all water meters to the new Beacon smart meter system. This new technology allows the Town’s water users to monitor their usage during the month. The new system also automatically transmits data to the Town’s utility billing system, and as part of this project the Town completed upgrades to the utility billing system to receive and automatically process the usage information each month. Because there are over 9,000 meters on the Town’s utility system, upgrading to the smart meters is taking place gradually over 10 years. At this point, the transition is ahead of schedule with 5,869 smart meters installed and 4,216 more to go.
Staff is planning replacing 763 of the old meters with new smart meters in 2020. Smart meters have also been installed in all new construction in the past four years and we are budgeting for 465 meters in new construction for 2020. Thus, we are anticipating installing a total of 1,228 new smart meters in 2020.
Benefits of the smart meters include:
• Allows customers Online and Smart Phone access to water consumption information to improve their understanding of water usage patterns and billing
• Set alerts to email and/or text notifying customers if a potential leak is detected
• Enabling customers to see the results of conservation efforts within 24 hours
• Enable customers to monitor usage through the month to better budget what bills will be
Staff is using the following approaches to minimize disruption and make the transition to smart meters as easy as possible for customers:
• Public Notification
o Media Release - Staff includes information regarding the meters in various publications
o Door Hanger - Staff places a door hanger explaining the replacement to residents, and for new construction after a smart meter is installed. This door hanger explains the new meter system and how to access the data should they choose to
o Resident Contact - For outside meters, the meter replacement takes about 6 to 10 minutes. Staff has found that because the procedure is so quick, prior notification for regular outside replacement raises more question than it answers. Consequently, staff simply makes sure at the time of the replacement that the resident is aware of the work and that it will not cause any disruption. If it will cause a disruption, staff reschedules. If no one is home, staff completes the replacement and leaves a door hanger with information about the new meter.
o Website Page - Staff has a web page on the Town’s website (<https://www.erieco.gov/1350/Smart-Meters>) where residents can learn more about the smart meters
o Replacement Lists - Staff has developed a list of meters that are scheduled for replacement each year. This list will be posted on the Town’s website so residents can see if they are on the schedule by address. If they are not listed and haven’t been upgraded previously, they may enter the Water Meter Lottery when available (see below).
• Developer Notification - As mentioned above, when a smart meter is installed at a new construction site, the Developer receives a door hanger for that address. They may choose to relay this information to the new homeowner.
• New Home Owners - Staff includes information regarding the new smart meters in the New Home Owner Welcome Packet.
• Water Meter Lottery - Staff may host an annual lottery for those not scheduled to be upgraded in the current year. This will be run similar to the tree incentive program and will allow for up to 100 residents to be added to the replacement list. The lottery may be opened after the schedule replacements for the year are close to complete.
Project Budget
2020 Replacement Meters $378,900
2020 New Meters 302,800
Total $681,700
ATTACHMENTS:
a. Resolution
b. 2020 Annual Pricing - Erie