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New Discussion: <br />At the June work session, council agreed, in principal, to proceed with option <br />number two, with a couple questions. <br /> <br /> Study MIU versus MXU, why switch out the system? <br /> <br />MIU’s (phone reads) are no longer manufactured, as this technology is <br />outdated. <br /> <br />The trend in cell phone use has, and is continuing to rise especially <br />among younger home owners/renters. This makes MXU (radio read) the <br />only current option for new residents and failed MIU’s. <br /> <br />A half MIU and MXU system requires more equipment and time for billing <br />and public works department. <br /> <br />MIU’s are becoming extremely unreliably with increasing failure rates with <br />no explanation from manufacturer other than age. <br /> <br /> <br /> How would the MXU be read? <br /> <br />Currently, HD Supply, the vendor who the City purchases all of its meter, <br />and meter reading supplies from, reads the MXU’s. (This is done every <br />quarter free of charge.) <br /> <br />The city can purchase its own drive by reading equipment, and then staff <br />could do the readings. However, that system will cost an estimated <br />$25,000. <br /> <br />Additionally, Invensys will no longer support the Cities current radio read <br />reader, which is original from 1995. This means when the City’s current <br />reader fails, the City will have to purchase a new reader. This reader will <br />cost at least $10,000 to $15,000, but at this price would not have the <br />“drive by” collections feature – it would only be a “point and click” reader. <br />At that time it might be advantageous to purchase its own drive by reading <br />system, because the City will have to have some means of reading its <br />meters on a daily basis. <br /> <br /> Data collection – will the company continue to collect the data? What <br />does this cost? <br /> <br />The MXU’s are currently read every quarter by the vendor. We spoke to <br />Paul Thom (vendor who does the readings) and asked for a quote price <br />for the readings to be performed. Quote has not been received yet. Rough <br />estimate is $300.00 per Quarter. The City received a quote from Paul <br />about 3 years ago and it was $300.00 per read then, but has vendor has <br />never been billed City citing the “the paperwork wasn’t worth the hassle”.