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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/01/2013 Work Session CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS Mayor GaryL.Peterson C ounc ilm emb ers Robert A.WiQianis 590 40 Avenue NE,Columbia Heights,MN 55421-3878 (763)706-3600 TDD(763)706-3692 Bruce Nawrocki Visit our website at.www.ci.columbia-heiehts.mn.us TantmeS Dielnn Dogma Schniiti City Manager N7aker R.Felist ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING to be held in the CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS as follows: Meeting of: COLUMBIA HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL Date of Meeting: April 1, 2013 Time of Meeting: 7:00 PM Location of Meeting: CONFERENCE ROOM 1 Purpose of Meeting: WORK SESSION 1. Commercial Meter Replacement Program: Customer Funding—Kevin Hansen The City of Columbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of Columbia Heights' services, programs, and activities. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are available upon request when the request is made at least 96 hours in advance. Please call the City Clerk at 763-706-3611 to make arrangements. (TDD/706-3692 for deaf or hearing impaired only). CITY COUNCIL LETTER Meeting of: April 1, 2013 AGENDA SECTION: WORK SESSION ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: CITY NO: PUBLIC WORKS /FINANCE MANAGER ITEM: Commercial Meter Replacement BY: K. Hansen, J. Kloiber BY: Program: Customer Funding DATE: March 21, 2013 DATE: Background: In February of 1999 the City Council authorized the replacement of all residential water meters with new meters operating on a radio-read type system. The firin of U.S. Filter was awarded the contract and completed the change out of over 5,500 meters that year. The system operates on a radio communication frequency where each meter has its own battery. In 2011 all of the batteries for the residential water meter radios were successfully replaced. Issues: A. Commercial Meter Replacements: Currently, the City of Columbia Heights has approximately 426 non-residential meters that have not been replaced in the last 20-30 (or more)years. Many of these meters may be inaccurate due to their age, especially at low flow. As meters are essentially the cash register for water consumption, it is critical to have accurate readings to reduce or eliminate inaccurate meter readings. A couple of recent cases provide a perfect example. Meters were recently replaced at 5001 University Avenue, 1555 40th Avenue, 965 40"'Avenue and 528 40"'Avenue,providing new and accurate readings. In each of these cases, inaccuracies were in the range of 0.5-3x prior billing volumes(under reading). Public bidding documents are nearly complete; staff anticipates bringing a recommendation back to the City Council in May. A remaining issue is customer payment for the new radio-read water meters. Internally, financing of the commercial water meter replacement could be handled by bonding or with an internal inter- fund loan. The Capital Equipment fund would be one source for this loan to the Water Department Construction fund. The total number of non-residential meters by size is as follows: TOTAL BY METER SIZE Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 TOTALS .625 16 48 26 90 .75 8 27 9 44 1.0 26 61 41 128 1.5 38 35 21 94 2.0 11 20 12 43 3.0 2 6 12 20 4.0 1 2 3 6.0 1 1 junknownj 1 2 3 Of the 426 water meters, 77% are one-inch or smaller. It is estimated that installed costs for these meters will be in the range of$300 - $500 each. Staff recommends collecting payment in full or the option of placing the cost on a customer's utility bill in equal payments over a 1-year period. 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