Town weighs $280,000 meter-replacement plan as SCADA outage interrupts operations

Town Administrator Aiken told the Star Valley Ranch Town Council that the municipal SCADA system went offline unexpectedly and Public Works is working with a new SCADA contractor to investigate the outage. He also reported that the town’s emergency generators — described as first response and Green Canyon units — are expected to be operational next week under a maintenance contract signed with Kolar.

Aiken raised concerns about water loss and a plan to replace aging customer meters, noting a typical meter service life of about 10 years. “It will cost approximately $200 a meter which will be approximately $280,000 for the town,” Aiken said. Council members discussed implementing the replacement in phases and using surplus funds; the council asked staff to develop a staged plan. Fergeson is scheduled to perform an on-site assessment on May 8 to inform the scope of work.

Council and staff also discussed individual meter removals after a property owner requested a meter be pulled from service. Boyd Siddoway suggested that customers who later want the meter reinstalled should pay the full tap fee. Councilman Taylor Ellis cited ordinance 50.01 as providing authority to set a removal fee, and the council asked the attorney to clarify obligations for customers, including an Elkhorn resident who requested a tap into the town system.