1992-07-27 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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• CITY OF LA PORTE INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM T0: Robert T. Herrera, City Manager FROM: Jeff Litchfield, Director of Finance DATE: July 22, 1992 SUBJECT: Meter RFP On July 20, 1992, the City opened and read sealed bid #0494 for automated meter reading devices. Bid requests were mailed to six vendors with one (1) returning a bid. The process the City desires is the ability to obtain a monthly reading for meters that are continually submerged under water or are in an awkward location (i.e. in a fenced area that is either kept locked or contains unfriendly dogs). The process is accomplished by the attachment of a solid state interrogator device attached to the meter. The meter reader places an electronic meter reading gun to a touchpad wired to the meter and presses a button which submits an electronic signal through a wire to obtain the reading of the meter. The meter reader can then obtain the accurate reading and enter the number into the ITRON data capture unit. This process will not replace the ITRON system, it will enhance it. The company which submitted a bid was Sensus Technologies, Inc.. Sensus was the company the City used in their pilot program and appears to be the only company able to provide this service to the City. The primary meter in place in the City is a Rockwell meter. The Rockwell Meter Division is now owned by Sensus. The City's pilot program has been in place for one year. During that time, the meter readers have successfully read the test meters, both those submerged under water and those located more than 100 feet from the meter. The bid included a requirement that the product have a proven track record in a moisture intensive environment. A check of their references verified this requirement. The reference they provided that most resembles the City of La Porte was the City of Freeport. Their rainfall and drainage conditions most resembles ours. The City of Freeport started installing their devices in 1986 and currently have several thousand installed. A misunderstanding of Bid Item 1, the device to capture the read of the meter, resulted in the company bidding a unit the City does not desire. Therefore, we do not want to award Item 1. The device the City needs is expected to cost around $800 each with a projected quantity of three. We will procure these at a later date, following proper purchasing procedures.