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Waite Park approves $475,000-plus program to replace aging water meters and install AMI system
Summary
The council approved purchase of an AMI system and roughly 800 water meters over two years, funding the approximately $483,000 program with a bond and contracting Midwest Testing for installation for $85,000; the transcript lists the three motion amounts but does not include a roll-call tally.
The Waite Park City Council approved a three-part water-meter modernization program that includes buying an automatic meter infrastructure (AMI) system, purchasing roughly 800 water meters and remote readers, and contracting an installer to replace meters.
A city staff presenter told the council that many meters in the system are older than 20 years and that the work will be funded by a bond sale the city did not need to issue this year and next year. The staff estimate for the program totals about $483,000; staff described the project as a two-year effort with about 800 meters replaced in the first year. The AMI system will enable remote reads, customer access to usage data online, and earlier detection of unusually high usage that could indicate leaks.
Council considered and approved three separate motions recorded in the meeting audio: purchase of the AMI system ($137,000), purchase of meters and readers ($253,000), and hire Midwest Testing to install the meters ($85,000). The transcript records the motion amounts and that the motions were seconded and approved, but it does not provide a roll-call vote record or named tallies.
Why it matters: Replacing aging meters and installing AMI can reduce undetected leaks, give customers timely usage data, and lower long-term operating costs for manual reads.
What’s next: Staff will procure the AMI system, order meters, and schedule installation with Midwest Testing; the transcript indicates staff will prepare informational outreach with Anderson Hughes but does not give a firm installation start date.
