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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/08/08 Technologies July 8, 2008 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TECHNOLOGIES BOARD HELD ON July 8, 2008 The Regular Session of the TECHNOLOGIES BOARD of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 6:30 pm on the 13th of May, 2008 at CITY HALL, in the Finance Conference Room, City Hall, 6800 MAIN STREET, THE COLONY, TEXAS, with the following Technologies Board members present: Mark Porter Chad Joyce Jack Turner Steve Hoffman Bill Swink Beverly Jones With six out of seven members present a quorum was established and the following items were discussed. 11.0 1 Call Meetin~ to Order: 6:34 P.M. I 2.0 1 DISPOSITION OF MINUTES Acceptance of Technologies Board Minutes for a meeting held on May 13, 2008. 1 3.0 1 CITIZEN INPUT None [ILl AGENDA ITEMS 4.1 Consider and approve a recommendation for Automated Meter Reading (AMR) Project. Tod Maurina, Utilities Superintendent for the City of The Colony, explained the need for an AMR system and gave a brief overview of the current system. Mr. Maurina explained the different types of AMR systems that he is evaluating. Examples of the different types are a walk by system, a drive by system, and a fixed network system. We currently use a walk by system in about 80 percent of the core part of city and the other 20 percent will be changed out over the next couple of years. Mr. Maurina evaluated the fixed network system from Itron. The system required an approximate investment of $340,000 in hardware and that cost did not include the end points or meters. The cost of the end points and meters was approximately $2.8 million dollars. There was also an annual recurring cost of $32,000 for web hosting of the data. Mr. Maurina evaluated a system from Badger Meter and Master Meter. Master Meter is our current meter vendor and their system has yet to be released. The system from Badger Meter is a fully integrated system. The meter July 8, 2008 and sending unit is encapsulated into one piece. He sees this as an advantage because of the fact that the meters are underground. The initial capital costs for the Badger Meter system are around $20,000. Hexagram is another system that was evaluated by Mr. Maurina with a capital cost of around $50,000 but he feels there is a drawback because the system would need to interface with the meter and therefore there would be some type of connection being made in the meter box. Our current meters are not really compatible with other systems. Mr. Maurina is proposing that we utilize the new system in an area of town that is currently being developed to avoid replacing meters that were recently replaced. If the system works well we could then start implementing it in other areas of the city as the meters need to be replaced. Mr. Maurina said there will be about 1,600 customers in Wynnewood Peninsula eventually and this is the site he is proposing we implement first. We would be able to recover the capital cost of the meters through tap connection fees that are charged initially and would avoid having to replace them in the future. We would also avoid hiring additional personnel to read the meters and purchasing equipment and a vehicle. The system from Badger Meter has a $2,500 annual maintenance cost for support. That also includes the back haul cost. The system is using cellular back haul and that is included in the annual maintenance cost. Mr. Maurina is recommending the Badger Meter system. Ms. Jones asked what type of training will be required for the water staff. Mr. Maurina said the cost includes 2 days of training. The training will be in two components. There will be one for the billing side and one for the troubleshooting and installation side. The staff will be trained on using the software to detect problems with the meters. Ms. Jones asked if there would be positions eliminated. Mr. Maurina said there will be no positions eliminated and we will just be avoiding hiring additional personnel. Mr. Hoffman asked if the Badger Meter system is reputable and if we have any references for other cities that have used the system. Mr. Maurina said the system was in Research and Development for 5 years and has been on the market for several years. He said they have an extensive list of customers. Mr. Hoffman asked what the height requirement was for the repeater. Mr. Maurina said it is between 30 and 60 feet. Mr. Hoffman asked if all of the parts have a 20 year warranty. Mr. Maurina said he believes the meters, batteries, and transmitters have a 20 year warranty. Mr. Swink asked how the end of life of the battery is determined. Mr. Maurina explained that the warranty is pro-rated after 10 years. Mr. Hoffman asked if meters are included in the price of $20,000. Mr. Maurina said the computer, collectors, and repeaters are included in the initial price and it also includes 75 transmitters and meters. Mr. Hoffman asked if this system would allow customers to log onto our system and see real time data for their water consumption. Mr. Maurina said it could potentially be used for that but would require additional set up and costs. Mr. Swink asked if the initial transmitters would be through the cellular network. Mr. Maurina said they would be. Mr. Swink said his concern is that it is through a GSM network and he wanted to know whether we had an option for TDMA or CDMA. Mr. Maurina said those options were available. Mr. Swink said his concern is that GSM is an AT&T network and he felt the coverage would be wider with CDMA. He is not sure how good the coverage is with a GSM network. Mr. Maurina said we would probably request a performance guarantee. Mr. Swink asked if the transmitters were battery powered. Mr. Maurina said they are solar powered with a battery back-up but there are other options. Mr. Hoffman asked if there is a timeline for the implementation of the system. Mr. Maurina said we would like to get it implemented 2 July 8, 2008 as quickly as we can because of the current development at Wynnewood Peninsula. Allen Breese, a representative for Badger Meter, gave a demonstration of the Galaxy fixed network system. Mr. Swink asked if the system uses GSM network or CDMA. Mr. Breese said the system will find whatever network is available and use that. Mr. Hoffman asked what the warranty is on the transmitter and other items. Mr. Breese said the all of the components of the meter as well as the transmitter has a 20 year warranty. Mr. Breese said the battery has a full 10 year warranty and it is prorated after that. Mr. Hoffman asked what the cost to replace the battery is. Mr. Breese said the battery is non replaceable because it is a sealed system. Mr. Hoffman asked what would be done if the battery went out. Mr. Breese said the unit would be sent to them and tested and they would most likely replace the entire unit. Mr. Hoffman asked about the leak detection. Mr. Breese explained that the meter will look at a period of time for unexpected use and flag the system for a potential leak. Mr. Joyce asked if there is any way to detect if the device has removed from the meter. Mr. Breese eXplained that the device is physically attached to the meter with a screw. Mr. Hoffman asked how often the utility department would be inspecting the meters after they are installed. Mr. Maurina said they would probably start off checking them quarterly until they feel comfortable with them. Mr. Marshall asked what the density for the devices is. Mr. Breese said the proposal included 3 units at Wynnewood. He said that one gateway will handle up to 8,000 meters. Mr. Marshall asked if the transmission is a regulated frequency. Mr. Breese said it is a regulated FCC frequency that transmits in the 400-500 MHz range and it will require an FCC license. They would obtain the license for us. Mr. Marshall asked what else transmits in that range. Mr. Breese said he was unsure. Mr. Marshall asked if it is a secure band. Mr. Breese said it is and that the only information sent will be the meter device. There will be no personal information sent and it is also encrypted. Mr. Marshall asked why we would not be using wireless. Bruce Maker, IT Manager for the City of The Colony, said it is not a feasible solution at this time. Mr. Marshall asked why we could not use the SCADA system connection at the lift station to transmit the data. Mr. Maker said it is strictly proprietary information that goes across the SCADA system. Mr. Marshall asked if this will work with all meter sizes. Mr. Breese said it would. Mr. Swink asked if the battery in the transmitter has a 20 year warranty. Mr. Breese said it is AC powered. He said the repeater can be solar powered or AC powered with a battery backup. Mr. Swink asked if the battery has a 20 year warranty. Mr. Breese said it is not. He said it is a standard battery that could be found at any local electronic store. Mr. Swink asked if the software could detect that the battery is about to go out. Mr. Maurina said they have maintenance schedules and they would put the batteries on that schedule and replace them after a set amount of time. Mr. Swink asked how the system deals with large trees. Mr. Breese said the signal will travel through the trees and in areas of extreme foliage they will suggest additional antennas of the repeater type. Mr. Porter asked if the plan was to mount an antenna on the water storage tank and lift station. Mr. Breese said the initial plan called for a 20 foot pole on top of the water storage tank and a mast installed at the lift station. Badger is suggesting a 40 foot mast. Mr. Swink asked how the devices are protected from lightening. Mr. Breese said that a lightning rod should always be installed. Mr. Hoffman asked what the replacement cost on a transmitter is. Mr. Breese said the list price is about $4,700 and the repeater list price is about $1,700. Mr. Swink 3 July 8, 2008 made a motion to recommend the Badger Meter system. Mr. Porter seconded the motion. Motion carries. []D ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. APPROVED: Af~~h~ 4