Officials discuss replacing aging water meters with cellular system; rough cost estimate $700,000–$750,000

Speaker 2 told attendees the village’s current drive-by water-meter system is aging and increasingly producing unreadable 'heads,' forcing manual reads and estimated bills. "The batteries in the heads of those meters are traditionally good for about 10 years," Speaker 2 said, adding that dead meters are rising and replacement has become costly.

Speaker 2 described two meter-size groups — about 1,037 three-quarter-inch meters and about 101 one-inch meters — and compared lower-cost disc meters with a more expensive two-piece 'eSeries' option. "We're talking let's just round that off right now. We're talking half $1,000,000," Speaker 2 said when describing a rough overall figure. The presenter also gave ballpark cost breakdowns: roughly $700,000 for the cheaper meter option, $750,000 for the higher-end option, and about $200,000 anticipated for third-party installation, pending formal bids.

The presenter recommended a cellular system that would transmit readings 24/7, saying it would enable near-real-time leak detection and quicker identification of failing meters. "It's gonna tell us when there is leaks… It's gonna tell us where things are failing," Speaker 2 said, arguing the system would improve billing accuracy and operational oversight.

On financing, Speaker 2 described conversations with banks about conventional loans but proposed an internal loan option: transferring surplus from the general fund to the water department and repaying it over an amortization schedule. Under that scenario, Speaker 2 estimated 10-year debt service at about $95,000 per year for the lower-cost option and about $100,000 per year for the higher-cost option. "So if we finance ourselves from ourselves, the 10 year plan would be $95,000 more a year," Speaker 2 said.

Speakers asked technical questions: Speaker 1 and Speaker 4 confirmed the proposal would be for complete meter replacement rather than only swapping meter 'heads.' Speaker 4 stated the meter body life expectancy is "anywhere between 10 and 15 years," and recommended full replacement to restore accuracy.

Speaker 2 said next steps would be to prepare specifications and issue two separate bid packages — one for equipment and one for installation — and said the village would consider multiple vendors (noting Badger meters as a likely bidder but not a sole source). Speaker 2 recommended using a third-party installer, depending on bid outcomes.

The presentation closed with the group acknowledging these are initial, rough figures and that the village will finalize specifications and publicly solicit bids before any contract or formal financing decision.

The meeting did not record a final vote on the project in the provided transcript; Speaker 2 requested authorization to prepare RFPs and discussion continued about scheduling procurement steps.