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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/20/2014 Water Meters & Water Meter AccessoriesMount Prospect Public Works Department INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM �M?/ TO: VILLAGE MANAGER MICHAEL E. JANONIS FROM: WATER & SEWER SUPERINTENDENT DATE: MAY 14, 2014 SUBJ: BID RESULTS FOR WATER METERS AND WATER METER ACCESSORIES ($214,653.05) Background On October 1, 2013 the Village Board awarded a contract for the installation of a new automated meter reading (AMR) /Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) System. The new AMR system will allow the Village to remotely read all Village owned water meters (commercial and residential) on a daily basis. As part of our AMR project; staff identified 165 larger meters (1.5" and greater) that need to be exchanged in order to properly work with the new AMR system. These meters are not normally replaced but are tested and repaired as needed based on AWWA standards. This practice will continue after the installation of the new meters. These proposed purchases will be long- lived. Some of our existing large diameter meters, such as the 8" Metron - Farnier single -jet, have been in service for more than 20 years. The 1.5" and 2" meters will be replaced utilizing in -house staff. The larger meters (3 "- 8") will be replaced utilizing a water meter services contractor. Staff prepared a bid specification for the quantity of meters that are planned for replacement as well as associated meter accessories. The bid request asked vendors to provide separate pricing on each item to allow the Village to use the lowest responsible price per item. The bid also asked that the vendor hold their pricing for a minimum of one hundred and eighty (180) days. The specifications required all vendors to meet or exceed AWWA cold water meter standards. In addition, staff included a requirement that the proposed meters be of a design and construction that emphasizes low -flow accuracy. Due to the increasing cost of Lake Michigan water, as well as the increased Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) restrictions on unaccounted water flow, staff deemed that an emphasis on low -flow accuracy was prudent. Additionally, these larger meters account for approximately 45% of total water sales. Page 2 of 4 Bid Results for Water Meters and Water Meter Accessories ($214,653.05) May 14, 2014 Bid pesults Bid documents were sent to six (6) firms and a bid notice was published in a local newspaper. Bids were received on March 10, 2014, opened and read aloud as required. Five (5) bidders submitted pricing. Five (5) firms submitted the following pricing: Discussion All bids were checked to ensure that the supplier was providing the needed and necessary equipment in accordance with the specifications. All bidders complied with the bid specifications. All bidders submitted pricing for low lead/ no -lead brass meters in compliance with recent EPA reduced lead requirements. The bids included three styles of meters in varying sizes, a single -jet meter, ultrasonic meter and a mag- meter. All three meter types meet or exceed AWWA standard and achieve the level of accuracy required by the Village. Both Badger Meter and MidAmerican supplied local references for their ultrasonic meters. Staff contacted the supplied references and found that each vendor has only about 100 meters installed in the Chicago area. These meters have been installed less than four (4) years. There have been some initial product issues including corrosion. Muniply Badger HBK Meter MidAmerican Item Qty (Metron) Kamstrup Meter Services (Master Meter) single -jet (ultrasonic) ultrasonic (Hersey) ultrasonic mag meter 1 -1/2" $595.00@ $375.00@ $451.36@ $1262.98@ meters 85 $50,575 total $31,875. $38,365.60 No bid $107,353.30 total total total 2" meters 50 $1288.36@ $1150.00@ $605.42@ No bid $1150.00@ $64,418 total $57,500 total 30,271 total $57,500 total 3" meters 20 $1985.00@ No bid No bid $2990.20@ $1591.05@ $39,700 total $59,804 total $31,821 total $3800.00@ $3140.54@ $1860.37@ 4" meters 10 $38,000 total No bid No bid $31,405.40 $18,603.70 total total 8" meter 1 $6850.00 No bid No bid No bid $2990.90 Encoded 44 $95.00@ No bid No bid No bid No bid Registers $4180 total Bolt Packages Sump $23,295.00 No bid $20,383.45 $20,750.00 $10,930.05 & Flan es Discussion All bids were checked to ensure that the supplier was providing the needed and necessary equipment in accordance with the specifications. All bidders complied with the bid specifications. All bidders submitted pricing for low lead/ no -lead brass meters in compliance with recent EPA reduced lead requirements. The bids included three styles of meters in varying sizes, a single -jet meter, ultrasonic meter and a mag- meter. All three meter types meet or exceed AWWA standard and achieve the level of accuracy required by the Village. Both Badger Meter and MidAmerican supplied local references for their ultrasonic meters. Staff contacted the supplied references and found that each vendor has only about 100 meters installed in the Chicago area. These meters have been installed less than four (4) years. There have been some initial product issues including corrosion. Page 3 of 4 Bid Results for Water Meters and Water Meter Accessories ($214,653.05) May 14, 2014 Ultrasonic meters is a new metering technology that has only recently been employed in potable water systems. Mag meters have been deployed for several more years but are only deployed in low numbers. There are less than a dozen mag meters in the metro area. Staff is not recommending the use of these new technologies for two reasons - their low installed base and their battery life (replacement). Based on the low numbers on installed meters for the ultrasonic and mag meter style meter and the low number of installed meters on a local level for either type (about 100 meters of both styles); staff cannot at this time recommend that the Board consider either of these two styles of water meters. Also, the mag and ultrasonic meters use a battery to power the unit's water measuring process and because of this, the entire meter needs to be replaced every 10 -14 years for the smaller meters (1 -1/2" to 4 "). The larger mag and ultrasonic meters only need to be removed and sent for battery replacement when their internal batteries expire. But this is not the case with the single -jet meter. The Metron - Farnier meters do not use a battery as part of their measuring process. Their expected life is 20 to 30 years and installed meters within the Village are approaching 20 years of good service without incident. The cost savings from not purchasing additional whole meters to replace the installed units when their internal batteries fail makes the Metron - Farnier the more economical meter to acquire when compared to the others. Staff is recommending that the Village Board accept staff's recommendation that the single jet Metron meters supplied from Muniply of Chicago, Illinois is the most responsible bid and to award the purchase of water meters to Muniply of Chicago, Illinois for their Metron - Farnier single -jet meters in the sizes from 1 -1/2" to 8 ". The bid document also included other components; encoded registers, flanges and nuts & bolts for the meter installations. Muniply was the only bidder for the encoded registers needed to make existing Metron meters installed within the Village compatible with the new AMR system. Staff is recommending that the sole bid from Muniply ( Metron) bid for the 44 encoded registers necessary to retrofit existing installed Metron meters to make them compatible with the new AMR system be accepted and awarded in the amount of $4,180.00. For the remaining flanges, nuts & bolts; staff is also recommending that the bolt packages and flanges be awarded to Mid American Water in an amount of $10,930.05 The total award for water meters and water meter accessories to the two (2) firms would be $214,653.05. Page 4 of 4 Bid Results for Water Meters and Water Meter Accessories ($214,653.05) May 14, 2014 Recommendations I recommend that the Village Board: 1. Accept Muniply of Chicago, Illinois as the responsible bid for water meters and authorize the purchase of single -jet water meters and encoded meter registers in an amount of $203,723.00. 2. Accept Mid American Water of Wauconda, Illinois as the lowest, responsible bid for water meter accessories and authorize the purchase in an amount not to exceed $10,930.05 for water meter accessories. Sufficient funds for these procurements exist in the current budget. Matt Overeem, Superintendent I concur. Sean P. Dorsey Director of Public Works cc: Bid file H: \Water \projects\2014\meters \BID RECOMMENDATION water meters rev3.docx