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Columbus council approves AMI water-meter procurement and several routine contracts
Summary
The Columbus City Council approved notice of award and a professional services agreement for AMI water meters, plus special-use permits and three professional services contracts (weed/mosquito control, tree pruning); council members asked about customer access to meter monitoring and voted unanimously on the listed items.
The Columbus City Council approved a package of procurement and permit items, including notice of award and a professional services agreement for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) water meters and several city service contracts.
Council approved the notice of award to Noddings Water Works Inc. for AMI water meters. During discussion the public works director said the system includes an app that customers can use to receive alerts and view usage once their meter is changed out: "The app will come with it that they can actually get alerts... They can see their usage on the day, on the hour," the director said. The director said customers can sign up for text-message alerts and that the city will provide access information when each meter is changed.
The council subsequently approved a professional services agreement with the AMI vendor for an amount not to exceed $500,000. Council members recorded motions and seconded them, and roll-call votes were affirmative for the item.
Other approvals included: special-use permits for Purpose Church to hold an April 4 Easter egg hunt at Heritage Park and for "Shakespeare in the Park" on July 24; a resolution (No. 894) establishing compliance with reimbursement-bond regulations under the Internal Revenue Code for the 12th Street sewer project; a $35,000 professional services agreement for weed and mosquito control; and a $45,000 tree-pruning contract with Grizzly Tree Service. Each item was moved, seconded and approved by roll call.
Council discussion on the AMI meters focused on customer access and timing for the rollout of the monitoring app; other items drew little debate. During the open-comments portion, members raised concerns about deteriorating railroad crossings (noting the railroad right-of-way limits city authority) and asked about used-oil collection at the solid-waste site; those were discussion items with no council action recorded.
Votes at a glance - Approval of March 2 minutes — Motion by Cole; seconded by Rick; outcome: approved (unanimous 'yes' recorded). - Approval of delinquent shutoffs — Motion by Tim; seconded by Dennis; outcome: approved (unanimous 'yes' recorded). - Notice of award to Noddings Water Works Inc. (AMI meters) — mover: not specified in the record; seconded by Rick; outcome: approved. - Professional services agreement for AMI meters (not to exceed $500,000) — moved by Dennis; seconded by Rick; outcome: approved. - Resolution No. 894 (12th Street sewer reimbursement-bond compliance) — moved and seconded; outcome: approved. - Special-use permit: Purpose Church, Heritage Park (April 4) — moved by Dennis; seconded by Rick; outcome: approved. - Special-use permit: "Shakespeare in the Park," Heritage Park (July 24) — moved by Tim; seconded by Cole; outcome: approved. - Professional services agreement: weed & mosquito control ($35,000) — moved by Rick; seconded by Cole; outcome: approved. - Professional services agreement: Grizzly Tree Service (tree pruning, $45,000) — moved by Dennis; seconded by Tim; outcome: approved.
The meeting adjourned after the last items and comments; no votes were recorded on the public-comments items about railroad crossings or oil collection.
