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Item No. 2D <br />Meeting Date: June 4, 2007 <br />Type of Business: WK <br />WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; <br />CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business <br />City Administrator Review _______ <br /> City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: Michael Schnur, Lead Utility Operator <br /> <br />Item Title/Subject: Water Meter Reading System <br /> Review Options <br /> <br />Background: <br />The current meter reading system was installed between the fall of 1995 and the <br />spring of 1996. This involved replacing the meters, and installing an automated <br />meter reading system. The meter reading system was comprised of two different <br />types of readers. The first and most common installation was the MIU / Phone <br />Reader, which once every three months makes a call to the City with the current <br />meter reading. The Second was a MXU / Radio Reader, which once every three <br />months the City would drive by each house and get a current meter reading. This <br />project was contracted and installed by Water Pro, for a total price of <br />approximately $830,000. <br /> <br />The meters themselves have been very reliable and accurate. The only problem <br />the City has encountered with the meters is a loud chamber, or the guts of the <br />meter, on higher volume using houses. For example, some homes with irrigation <br />systems. This is an easy and inexpensive repair, by either changing to a bigger <br />meter, or replacing the chamber. <br /> <br />The MXU / Radio Read devices have also been very reliable in the past, except for <br />when the batteries died in mass quantity. However that was to be expected, and <br />has been taken care of, and won’t be an issue for another 4-5 years. <br /> <br />Discussion: <br />However the MIU / Phone Read system has been an ongoing maintenance <br />headache from the initial installation. While this headache has been manageable <br />in the past, it has become a large problem in the last two quarters. <br /> ·Year 1996 216 MIU related repairs <br /> ·Year 1997 199 MIU related repairs <br /> ·Year 1998 118 MIU related repairs <br /> ·Year 1999 67 MIU related repairs <br /> ·Year 2000 146 MIU related repairs <br /> ·Year 2001 92 MIU related repairs