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White Sulphur Springs seeks up to $1.705M from TIF for smart-meter replacement; county approves cost analysis pending legal review
Summary
White Sulphur Springs officials told Greenbrier County commissioners that 300 water meters are inoperable after a vendor discontinued AM radios; the county approved the town's cost analysis and authorized up to $1,705,000 from TIF funds to pursue a smart-meter replacement pending county-attorney review and reimbursement of any recovered vendor funds.
White Sulphur Springs officials told Greenbrier County commissioners on Feb. 24 that the town's radio-read water-meter system is failing after the manufacturer stopped producing replacement AM-frequency radios, leaving about 300 meters unreadable.
A town representative, who described the proposed system as an FM-frequency smart-meter installation with acoustic leak detection, said the upgrade would allow the town to detect leaks, reduce manual meter-reading labor and recover lost revenue. "Right now, we have 300 dead meters. And as you all know, time is money," the speaker said.
Officials presented a cost analysis from a single vendor they had evaluated; the transcript contains inconsistent total figures (one passage appears to show a transcription error of $1,000,705,000, while commissioners and staff referenced $1,705,000 as the working total). Commissioners expressed concern about warranty and contract-recovery options and asked county attorney John Stump to review the town's contracts with the original installer and any warranty claims before final approval.
Commissioner (S6) moved to approve the cost analysis and to authorize up to $1,705,000 from the town's TIF fund to move the project forward, with a caveat that any vendor recoveries or settlements be reimbursed to the TIF fund. The motion passed by voice vote.
The county directed the town to provide any contracts and warranty documentation to the county attorney for review and to return any recovered funds to the TIF account. The commission did not approve a specific procurement contract at this meeting; staff said the project will go out to bid following legal review.
