AgdaPkt 2002-09-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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IREPORT Mayor and City Council To the Honorable From the City Manager September 9, 2002 Subject Purchase of Automatic Remote Meter Reading Equipment Recommendation By motion; 1. Authorize the purchase of Automatic Remote Meter Reading Equipment from Invensys (formerly "Sensus") Metering Systems of Placentia, California in the not to-exceed amount of $228,485. 2. Waive the bidding requirements of the City of Redwood City Code, Chapter 2, Article 7, Section 2.76 by affirmative vote of at least five members of City Council on the grounds that strict compliance with the bidding requirements would not serve the public interest. Background The Sensus water meter is an American-made meter, which has been the standard in Redwood City for the past 28 years. The total number of meters currently in service is 23,021, which equates to 148,680 meters read per year. The current procedure requires that the meter readers walk the established154 different meter routes, lift the meter box lid, open the meter cover, read and enter the meter reading into~a hand-held computer, replace the box lid and walk to the next meter. The City is implementing a pilot project that will use remote meter reading technology which can significantly decrease the amount of time it takes to read meters, improve meter reading accuracy, and improve the safety of employees. The equipment Will be purchased directly for Invensys Metering Systems and is specifically made and designed for adapting to "Sensus" water meters. The pilot project targets remote, hillside areas, where meter reading is specially difficult and consists of: · · Converting 827 meters to automatic radio read technology, requiring the purchase of 827 radio-read meter transceiver units. · Replacing 628 old meters with a newer model. · Converting 199 existing SR II meters. · Purchasing a vehicle communications unit and meter reading software, r The radio dr~e-by technology permits reading 5,000 meters-per hour, limited only by the speed limit and the one mile electronic transmission radius. The meter reader will be able to drive through the City and read the meters remotely from the vehicle by radio transmission communication.