Title
Authorize the City Manager to approve a purchase and software agreement with HydroPro Solutions Inc. for software and integration services in the amount of $70,425 associated with the Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project.
Summary
The City is currently undergoing the process of migrating all of our water meters from a Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system to a Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) system. This migration brings the data into the City’s network in near real-time which will allow for the use of a portal for customer’s and City staff to be able to see that data. Given our water meters are Neptune brand, City staff reached out to portals that would be compatible with Neptune and allow for the integration of the two systems. City staff identified a few vendors that have a standalone portal product that works with Neptune meters and reached out for a demonstration of each of their products.
Each of the vendors gave City staff a real-time demo of both how their software will interface with City staff when they are looking at a customer’s usage and also what a customer would see when they were to use the software to track their own usage. Of the software products that staff tested, the WaterSmart software showed to provide the best value to the City’s water customers. The software allows for customization for each customer that enrolls in the portal to set their own individual alerts if there is ever a larger water usage at any time which will give them more control over their water usage. This will also allow customers to be able set alerts if there is ever a spike in usage that indicates a leak that way they can address leaks before they become catastrophic or they see their bill the following month. This software will also allow for City staff to be able to set these alerts as well for our water conservation staff to identify heavy water users and work to reduce water waste and meet our water conservation goals. In addition to these benefits, the WaterSmart software will allow our Utility Billing software to be able to better address customer calls quickly as they will be able to access the customer’s water usage while still on the phone with a customer. This provides a more expedient answer for our customer’s and is much more efficient as it removes the need for a Meter Technician to report to the customer’s house to look for any issues at the house.
The WaterSmart software is distributed by HydroPro Solutions Inc. in our region and we have procured the cost of this software and service through HydroPro Solutions’ HGAC contract. This procurement would also include extensive training for both our Utility Billing staff as well as our Public Works staff that will be using this software daily when interacting with our customers. After the initial procurement costs, annual cost for use of the software will be $2.25/ meter.
Prior City Council Action
NA
Deadline for City Council Action
June 8, 2021
Funding Expected: Revenue __ Expenditure _X_ N/A __
Budgeted Item: Yes _X__ No __ N/A __
Amount: _$70,425*_______
*This project is funded with Utility Bonds.
1295 Form Required? Yes _X_ No __
Legal Review Required: N/A __ Required _X__ Date Completed: ___________
Supporting documents attached:
HydroPro Solutions Quote, 1295 Form, Purchasing Rider, HGAC Contract Documents - HydroPro Solutions, SaaS Agreement - WaterSmart
Recommended Action
Staff recommends authorizing the City Manager to approve a purchase and software agreement with HydroPro Solutions Inc. for software and integration services in the amount of $70,425 associated with the Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project.