06-20-22-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — JUNE 20, 2022 5 Finance Director Bauman said she didn't foresee the no reads getting any worse, but what will happen is the loss in revenue from the meters themselves. The City continues to raise the rate to make up for revenue lost. They look at all of the costs and set the revenues to handle costs and capital expenditures. The increase is set to cover costs and to make sure there is enough fund balance in the fund. Mayor Grant asked how much was lost per year per home based upon the bill rate. Finance Director Bauman calculated that with just under 13 million gallons unaccounted for, it would cost each home $28.50 per year. She noted that not all water loss is from meters, and she takes into account city usage from street sweeping, rink flooding etc. Councilmember Radziej asked how much a new meter costs. Finance Director Bauman replied that a residential meter body is $75, the register is $90 and the endpoint is $150. When they are replacing the Galaxy with the new cellular units they are putting in a register and endpoint for $240. They don't replace the meter body very often. Councilmember Holmes wondered if they could assess the cost. Finance Director Bauman said a new home owner will buy the meter. She felt if residents were being assessed they wouldn't let anyone in to replace them. Mayor Grant stated $240/meter X 3,200 meters is just over $750,000, not including installation. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen said what is due for replacement is the meter body, cities typically replace them every 15-20 years. Little Canada has the same Galaxy system as we do and they are also transitioning. They did a full replacement meter and Galaxy boxes in 2010, and they are planning to do a full replacement in 2030 although they are transitioning to cellular as the Galaxy's fail. Arden Hills is different as we have older bodies and the Galaxy boxes were put in 10 years ago. There isn't a lot of drop off in the accuracy of the meter body but we are getting past the 20-year mark. He would be OK keeping the meter bodies and getting more life out of the Galaxy boxes unless they start seeing an uptick in the failure rate, and replace everything at once instead of piecemealing it together. They could test several meters for accuracy. Mayor Grant stated that staff is asking if they should hire a consultant to help figure out the configuration and what makes the most sense going forward. Finance Director Bauman said that because of some issues they had last year they weren't able to track the unaccounted-for water; she is waiting for the first quarter billing from Roseville to see where we are sitting now and if the unaccounted-for water is still creeping up. Councilmember Holden felt they should wait to hire a consultant. Budget it for next year and bring someone on in the spring or fall. Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen added that a consultant would give a recommendation on what products to purchase.