Branson approves $2.97 million plan to replace aging water meters with near‑real‑time system

The Board of Aldermen on a 5-0 vote authorized a package of contracts to install an advanced metering infrastructure system for the city's water utility, including a $2,967,976.40 master project agreement with Core & Main LP and related software and service agreements. The utilities department said the project will replace aging, failing meters and remote reading equipment and provide near‑real‑time usage data and a customer portal.

The utilities representative Kendall described the master agreement and scope: “The total contract amount is, $2,967,976.40, which includes the purchase and installation of all equipment.” Kendall said the vendor will supply base stations, water meters, antennas, the Census FlexNet network and analytics and will manage installation over an estimated 365-day period. Kendall added, “We have roughly 4,500 meters.”

Why it matters: City staff said the existing meter-reading antennas and some compound meters are failing, producing missed reads and additional manual work. The AMI system will enable more frequent reads, quicker leak detection and a customer portal that lets residents monitor daily usage. Kendall described the data cadence as technical detail: “it reads every 15 minutes, but it downloads approximately every 3 hours.”

The contracts approved included: the Core & Main LP master project agreement (hardware and installation), a software-as-a-service and spectrum lease with Census USA Incorporated, and a hosted analytics/customer-portal services agreement with HTU/HTO Analytics (three distinct ordinance approvals recorded on the agenda as bills 65‑67, 65‑68 and 65‑69). Each measure passed either first and final readings or final reading votes as presented; the master agreement was read and approved on final reading with a roll-call vote of 5-0.

Funding and rates: Staff said the upfront cost is budgeted from tourism-related revenue, and long-term replacement costs will be built into the utility’s rate model. Kendall explained the city expects more accurate billing and lower water losses as a result: the system should “bring those numbers closer together, our revenue and actual operation cost.” Officials said there is no immediate rate change tied to the contract approval but that meter replacements may cause individual customer bills to change where old meters were under-reading.

Implementation and operations: Installation will include base stations (sited at Pacific Tower and Landmark Tower, per staff), and a mix of contractor and city labor; Kendall said more complicated meter installs will use in‑house staff to control costs. Staff estimated a roughly 12‑month deployment timeline from ordering through meter installations and said the vendor is holding pricing at the time of contract.

Discussion and public comment: Elected members and members of the public questioned whether new meters would create billing problems similar to recent complaints about electric “smart” meters; Kendall said the devices and network chosen meet recognized industry standards and are in broad use. State Representative Branda Seitz asked whether rate increases were expected; staff replied that the project is funded now from tourism tax revenue and that normal annual rate adjustments would continue per the city’s five-year plan.

Next steps: The city will proceed under the signed agreements; staff said customers will receive tools to view near‑real‑time usage and that the utilities department will incorporate replacement costs into future budgets.