Utility projects drive major budget items: AMI meters, water tower financing, new wells and wastewater needs
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Summary
Staff presented large utility projects in the CIP and operating budgets including a multi-million dollar AMI meter rollout, bond-funded water/wastewater work, new well replacements and potential upgrades to the wastewater sludge handling and nitrogen controls.
Electric, water and wastewater leaders detailed major capital and operating items that will affect utility budgets over the next five years, including a large advanced-metering infrastructure (AMI) project, water-tower design and debt considerations and planned well replacements.
AMI meters and pilot Utility staff said the city awarded the AMI meter contract to Core & Main and expects a multi-phased rollout. The contract figures shown to council included about $3.1 million on the electric side and a similar figure on the water side; staff said the rollout will begin with a 100-meter pilot to test integration with the city’s billing software and that full deployment is expected to take 8–9 months once the pilot succeeds.
Water tower, wells and distribution Staff described a changing plan for water towers because bid prices rose. The Ashley Water Tower and other tower projects are being evaluated for bonding rather than waiting to accumulate reserves; staff said financing could allow moving some projects earlier in the five-year plan. Utility staff also said an old well (drilled in 1948) suffered casing failure and the city will bring a resolution to hire a contractor to plug the old well and then drill a new well in the following year.
Wastewater and sludge handling Wastewater staff discussed an expanding compost facility and a larger-than-expected sludge‑holding basin cost. Engineers' updated estimates pushed a planned $1,000,000 basin to a $3.4+ million project, and staff said they will explore bonding or other financing options to move the project forward. Staff also discussed future nitrogen-control investments tied to James River Basin TMDL requirements and possible VFD mixers and clarifier work.
Why it matters: the utility projects represent multi‑million dollar investments and staff said rising equipment lead times and higher bid pricing make early planning and financing decisions important to maintain reliability and regulatory compliance.
