Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Water topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lucas council approves start of AMI water‑meter upgrade and budget transfer
Summary
Council authorized a budget transfer to begin advanced metering infrastructure work and a sole‑source contract with Core & Main, pursuing $604,000 initially while authorizing a not‑to‑exceed amount of $695,193.93. Staff said AMI will speed leak detection and customer notifications.
The Lucas City Council approved a budget adjustment Oct. 17 to begin an AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) upgrade to the city's Neptune meter reading system and authorized the city manager to execute a sole‑source contract with Core & Main.
Staff said the immediate plan is to fund a $604,000 phase and asked the council to authorize a not‑to‑exceed total of $695,193.93 to allow flexible procurement if needed. Deployment includes antennas and monopoles; staff estimated the project will take up to two years to complete depending on monopole installation. "The huge benefit is this is knowing where water leaks are," the presenting staff member said, noting AMI will provide daily usage charts and allow the city to alert customers about continuous or off‑schedule usage before bills reach large amounts. Council and public commenters asked about privacy and possible 'Big Brother' effects; staff said the system is a conservation and customer‑notification tool, not a punitive monitoring program, and that exemptions (for new sod, etc.) will be noted in customer files.
