Galesburg council approves agreement with Kalamazoo to replace water meters with radio reads

Galesburg’s City Council on Oct. 6 approved an agreement with the City of Kalamazoo to replace water meters in the Fleetwood Plat with radio-read devices, a change officials say will allow remote, automated reads and reduce the time staff spend on meter reading.

Superintendent Ranes told the council that Kalamazoo provides sewer service in the Fleetwood Plat and that Consumers Energy’s meter-reading systems have moved to radio reads. He said Kalamazoo offered to replace the city’s meters so they will be compatible with the new system and that, because the equipment would be Kalamazoo’s, a formal agreement is required. "It will do two things," Ranes said: the city can do radio reads without manpower, and readings can be obtained by pushing a button, cutting down on meter-reading work.

Councilmember Anthony Tipken moved to approve the agreement; Carol Wortinger seconded. On a roll-call vote Chovanec, Wortinger, Hawes, Harnden, Tipken and Mayor Linda Marble voted "Aye"; no members voted "Nay," and Roger Frazee was absent. The motion carried unanimously.

Council discussion noted that Kalamazoo may perform the work directly or contract the installation to others. The agreement assigns responsibility for the meters to Kalamazoo as the equipment owner. The council did not discuss contract cost details publicly; Superintendent Ranes said the change should shorten the meter-reading schedule by about a day.

The council did not attach additional conditions to the approval; next steps are for the city and Kalamazoo to implement the agreed installations under the terms of the contract.