CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of Change Order #3 to Contract 19-214, Water Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Project, to Core & Main LP for an additional 185 days (Item 1 of 2)
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DEPARTMENT: Water Utilities
SUBMITTED BY: Darrell Blenniss, Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
Core & Main, an authorized distributor of Sensus USA, Inc, provides for the integration of the Sensus software with the City’s various IT systems and provides for the purchase and installation of approximately 43,500 meter interface units (MIUs) which allow for the transmission of water usage data to three elevated base stations, or data collection units (DCUs). The base stations pass the data to an interface, which gathers and processes network data that is sent to the City’s existing data management software used by the Electric Utility.
On September 1, 2020, City Council awarded Contract 19-214 to Core & Main LP to install AMI hardware, including MIUs and DCUs, AMI head-end, and integration of the City’s meter data management system (MDMS) and associated software for a complete system.
The City Manager approved Change Order #1 adding $13,500 to the contract on March 8, 2021. The funds are for the customization of the regional network interface (RNI) billing interface with SunGard. Council approved Change Order #2 on December 21, 2021, extending the contract for 180 days with the term ending June 29, 2022.
DISCUSSION:
Installation of the meter interface was completed throughout 2021, but the second phase of software integrations into the City software systems is still ongoing. The current software integration in place is strictly between the Sensus RNI and the City’s billing software. The integration allows wireless meter reads to be captured in the billing system so staff can generate monthly customer bills. The integration only provides reads when requested from the RNI. No other information or in-depth analysis is readily available (i.e., water consumption for a group of meters) or easily extracted. The integration allows for utilization of the wireless reads while more complex integrations are developed and implemented.
The second phase of software integration between the Sensus RNI, Harris MDMS, and Naviline is still ongoing. The MDMS provides a platform for long-term meter data storage including reading history, water meter health, automated notifications (i.e. meter not communicating), and advanced analytics, all of which allow staff to better understand the entire system and proactively address issues. Additionally, the Empower customer portal will leverage these integrations to allow customers to view water consumption, make informed decisions, and enable customers to partner with the Water Utility to operate more efficiently. The City will not be able to maximize its investment in Water AMI until the integrations in the second phase are completed.
Additional integration requirements were uncovered during the planning of the second phase that requires additional time beyond original estimates. A change order is requested to extend the contract completion date by 185 days allowing the contractor to complete the software integrations, testing, and final invoicing, as specified within the contract. Staff will continuously work with the vendor to expedite the completion of the project. No additional funds are required to complete the outstanding work. The revised completion date will be December 31, 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP: WU040
Installation of the Water AMI system is expensed to the Infrastructure account listed below, as part of the capital improvement program. All funds for the project were budgeted for 2021. The City completed a bond issuance to reimburse project expenses earlier this year. The requested change order will not require any additional funds.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
41251500-551502 |
Water & Wastewater |
$0 |
Per Council directive, contingency on construction projects is set at 3% on projects over $500,000 and 5% on projects under $500,000.