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Public works outlines street projects, AMI metering plans and funding priorities
Summary
Public works staff presented engineering priorities (100 South, Main Street segments, SR‑9 reclamation) and discussed phased AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) rollouts for water and power; staff advised caution on rapid AMI deployment because of office workload and vendor selection.
Public works and utilities staff used the council’s budget meeting to detail street engineering priorities, capital projects and the city’s approach to AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) metering for water and power.
Staff said they are preparing engineering for several projects to keep a multi‑year pipeline moving: 100 South (Main to 300 West), Main Street (600 North to 975 North), and a planned reclamation on a stretch from SR‑9 to 400 South on 700 West. The city completed geotechnical work for the SR‑9 stretch and engaged an engineer to develop an estimate, and staff said they hope to fund construction by pulling monies across existing street accounts if feasible this budget year.
Public works also discussed a multi‑year plan for AMI metering. The water department has implemented AMI in parts of the city and staff said customers have reported benefits — faster leak notification and remote reading — but the power department and city staff are still evaluating vendors and the timing for a broader rollout. Staff cautioned that AMI deployment creates administrative and customer‑service workload that must be funded and phased; they recommended coordinating closely with utility staff and neighboring jurisdictions with experience.
Other street‑budget highlights: the department retained a major chip‑seal and slurry program level set in last year’s budget, plans to crush road base where needed, added line items for retroreflective striping required by a new state initiative, and proposed two capital items (a replacement pickup and a side‑by‑side sprayer for trail herbicide work). Staff said they increased property‑acquisition funding to be ready for right‑of‑way needs on future projects and will aim to stagger project engineering so right‑of‑way acquisition timelines do not stall the pipeline.
Council members asked staff to coordinate with Washington City and other nearby utilities on AMI rollouts and to present vendor recommendations and the utility office workload impacts before committing to large AMI expenditures.
