Proposer AMR Meters Installer Local Vendor Cost Datamatic Datamatic Elster Datamatic not specified $5,469,302. Elster AMCO

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1 TO: FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager Bob Green, Water Department Manager Ken TeKippe, Finance Director SUBJECT: Water Meter Change Out Project Vendor Selection CIP Numbers and Budget Funds $8,875,000 DATE: December 1, 2009 BACKGROUND The purpose of this memo is to provide information and a recommendation relative to the selection of a firm to complete the City s change out of all water meters over the next 24 months. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project was approved by the City Council at its October 5, 2009 City Council Meeting. The RFP was distributed to a large list of meter, AMR, and utility companies and local plumbing contractors (detailed in Attachment E of the RFP) on October 6, 2009 and posted on the City of Dubuque website. A pre-proposal meeting was held on October 27, An addendum to the RFP was posted on the City of Dubuque website on October 30, DISCUSSION Proposals were received from the following seven firms: Proposer AMR Meters Installer Local Vendor Cost Datamatic Datamatic Elster Datamatic not specified $5,469,302 AMCO Dakota Supply Itron Badger Vanguard not specified $7,597,211 Group Elster AMCO Itron Elster Professional not specified $5,896,557* AMCO Meters, Inc. Mountain States Pipe & Supply Aclara RF Systems Elster AMCO Mountain States Pipe & not specified $6,042,686 Northern Water Works Supply Supply Neptune Neptune Northern Water Works Supply Modern Piping & Jaeger Plumbing $5,493,293* Sensus Sensus Sensus SL-Serco not specified $6,120,586* UECO/Mueller Hersey Hersey Portzen Portzen $7,460,373 Construction Construction *Reflects adjusted cost after interview

2 City staff reviewed the proposals in conjunction with our consultants from HDR Engineering and decided to interview three firms: Elster AMCO, Northern Water Works Supply and Sensus. The interviews were each 3-4 hours. The following employees and HDR Consultants were present for all the interviews: Bob Green Ken TeKippe Jesse Bernhardt Nikki Breitsprecker Mike Brekke Rose Hoerner Chris Kennedy Tami Lansing Ken Metcalf Jean Nachtman Joe Pregler Jackie Vanek Patrick Brown Tom Jakubowski Water Department Manager Finance Director Water Department GIS Specialist GIS Coordinator/Analyst Water Distribution Supervisor Utility Billing Supervisor Water Meter Repair Worker Accountant Water Meter Repair Worker Assistant Finance Director Lead Application/Network Analyst Water Plant Manager HDR Consultant assisting HDR A cost comparison chart of the three firms interviewed follows: Prime Sensus Raleigh, NC Elster AMCO Ocala, FL Northern Water Works Supply Blaine, MN Meter and Register Cost $ 1,796,474 $ 1,323,187 $ 1,862,541 Meter Interface Unit $ 2,012,850 $ 2,707,174 $ 1,814,249 (MIU) Cost Total Installation Cost $ 1,620,907 $ 1,461,385 $ 1,489,539 Automated Meter Reading (AMR) Infrastructure Cost $ 262,500 $ 404,811 $ 326,965 Performance Bond $ 427,854 Built into Project Costs Built into Project Costs Project Deployment Cost $ 6,120,586 $ 5,896,557 $ 5,493,293 Major factors that contributed to the selection of Northern Water Works Supply (NWWS) utilizing Neptune meters and their AMR technology include: Cost Presence in Iowa and the mid-west Quality proposal Interview team and presentation Experience References Plan to utilize local plumbers and laborers Number of collectors/repeaters required Ongoing maintenance expense

3 Additional information relative to the Neptune products: 1. Life expectancy of the meters Life expectancy of water meters is a variable factor which is based on water quality and consumption. The Neptune water meter has a history of long life when installed in high water quality locations. Neptune has performed very well in treated water locations like Moline, IL; Iowa-American (Davenport, Clinton); Illinois-American (Peoria, Sterling); and many other locations that use treated or treated well water. In treated water applications, 20 plus years is very common. The other component of long life is the consumption that is recorded on the meter. The meter being a positive displacement product does have certain wear based on the nutations of the chamber. The meters are guaranteed accurate for new meter accuracy for five years from date of shipment and repaired meter accuracy for an additional ten years. This is stated in the warranty which is attached. 2. Cost to replace a battery The material cost to replace the battery does not take effect until after the 10th year of the warranty. The following table shows the cost. Year Battery Replacement Cost 1-10 labor 11 $ labor 12 $ labor 13 $ labor 14 $ labor 15 $ labor 16 $ labor 17 $ labor 18 $ labor 19 $ labor 20 $ labor 3. Expected life of battery with normal amounts of reads The warranty of the battery is 20 years (10 years full warranty/10 years prorated warranty). Because the MIU is being installed on the outside of the home, the City will have access to the field replaceable battery without having to make an appointment with the customer. The ARB_N_SIGHT software monitors battery life of the field units giving a warning for low battery status. At that time, there will still be ample time to replace batteries when necessary.

4 4. Expected life of battery with increased amounts of reads Because the E-Coder register tracks the intermittent leaks, continuous leaks, no flow, and reverse flow in the register there is no change in the MIU warranty. It still carries a 20 warranty. The MIU can be set up to collect hourly reads on all of the meters in Dubuque with no degradation to the expected battery life. 5. Read and transmission interval of meters Meters can be read once per hour with one transmission of the 24 hourly reads per day. The system is also capable of sending an alarm based on conditions such as reverse flow, tampering, or a leak detected at any time. 6. Usage/trending software provided Highlights of the software features provided with the proposed system: Usage profiles (hourly, daily, monthly) Set conditions for the system to initiate an alarm such as a leak and have the system send a text or to appropriate staff 24 standard reports can be created Status of collector and meter transmitter communication View map of city/system Send of usage graphs to a customer to address billing issues Hardware information including meter serial numbers, and installation photos Customer account information Northern Water Works Supply (NWWS) plans to utilize the local plumbing firm, Modern Piping, to change all meters 3 and larger and use Modern Piping and/or Jaeger Plumbing for all plumbing repairs and modifications required for the project. In addition, the firm plans to hire local laborers and foremen to complete the installations. A letter from General Manager, Ron Vasko relative to the use of local plumbing firms is enclosed. Northern Water Works Supply (NWWS) will comply with the Made in America provisions and Davis Bacon prevailing wage rules as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The $8,875,000 project budget includes a $7,875,000 State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan and a $1,000,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) forgivable loan. Funding will be from a $7,675,709 State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan and a $1,000,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) forgivable loan, representing a $199,291 saving from original budget.

5 The project budget includes: Budget $8,875,000 NWWS Project Costs $5,493, additional installed meters with UFR devices 90,000 New meter inventory 200 uninstalled with UFR device 47,000 Four hand held meter reading devices 10,000 Unmeasured Flow-Reducer (UFR) 1,500,000 (provided by A.Y. McDonald) HDR Consulting Fees 350,000 1% Loan origination fee 76,757 Legal fees 10,000 Contingency* - 20% of NWWS project costs 1,098,659 Total Project Cost 8,675,709 Estimated savings from budgeted $ 199,291 *Due to the unknown condition throughout the water system, a project contingency will be utilized as needed for proper installation to the City water system including, but not limited to modifications, replacements and plumbing repairs on large and residential meters. A separate Water Department CIP of $10,000 per year has been established to provide residents financial assistance to fix leaks/plumbing devices. RECOMMENDED ACTION The recommended action at the December 7, 2009 City Council meeting is to award the contract to Northern Water Works Supply (NWWS) in the estimated amount of $5,493,293 subject to all contract, insurance and bonding issues being resolved with the City and approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Finance Authority. The installation plan presented by Northern Water Works Supply (NWWS) provides for complete installation by the summer of A copy of the Northern Water Works Supply (NWWS) proposal is enclosed. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions on the process or recommendation. Thank you. KJT/jg Enclosures: Water Meter Change Out Request for Proposal (RFP) Addendum to RFP Northern Water Works Supply proposal, including cost Northern Water Works Supply letter relative to use of local plumbers Resolution Meter Warranty