Submitted By
Rob Sproule, Public Works Director
Reviewed By
A.M. Zayyad, Deputy Village Manager
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Resolution Approving a Water Meter Reading Purchase Price Agreement with Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, d/b/a Ferguson Waterworks in an Amount Not to Exceed $166,777.00, Authorizing its Execution and Waiving the Village’s Bid Process for the Agreement
End
Overview
Overview
This item is for the purchase of water meter reading equipment as part of the Public Works Departments continuation of maintaining the water meter system. This is primarily for a purchase and installation of Water Meter Reading Equipment
End
Recommendation
Recommendation
Adopt the Resolution.
Background
In an effort to strive for accurate reading of water usage and reduce non-revenue water loss the Public Works Department continues the process of replacing older/obsolete water meters.
There are approximately 12,600 meters in the Villages water system. The meters are necessary to record water usage for billing purposes. In 2021 and 2022, the Public Works Department upgraded its meter infrastructure, replacing old and obsolete water meters to allow the installation of Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) equipment.
Most water meters are currently read on a three month (quarterly) cycle, utilizing a ‘drive-by’ system. The readings are then provided to the Finance Department who proceeds with the billing of customers. The current style of replacement meters will allow the Village to transition from the ‘drive-by’ reading system to a ‘fixed-base’ reading system which will have the ability to collect reads on a daily basis.
The second phase of this project is to install data collectors to read the water meters. This agenda item will allow for the data collectors to be ordered and installed. This system will allow staff to monitor daily water consumption against daily water import volumes, thus providing an early warning when a non-revenue water loss event is occurring. The total number of data collectors required is expected to be 9.
Staff recommends waiving the bid process for this purchase because Ferguson Waterworks is the only regional distributor of the Neptune water meter that the Village uses. Neptune is the manufacturer of the meters that were purchased to start the change-out program in 2001 and is the preferred manufacturer of meters to complete the program to maintain continuity with the meters. Neptune has also served the water industry for over 130 years starting in 1892 and is a leader in AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) technology.
Fiscal Impact
The approved Fiscal Year 2022 budget had a total of $225,000.00 for an Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in the Water and Sewer Fund, Capital Improvements, account no. 5040-43730-777-570707. The Water & Sewer Department will issue a first quarter budget carry-over for these funds.
DEI Impact
N/A.
Alternatives
The Board can delay action to gain additional information.
Previous Board Action
The Village Board has approved this supplier for parts purchase in 2022 and previous years.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
N/A.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
In 2022 staff will be looking at options to move towards installing Customer Portal Software. This would also allow the Village and residents to know real time water usage, be notified of possible leaks and offer the possibility to move to bi-monthly or monthly billing.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
N/A.