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Home My WebLink About9.1 Motion to waive the rule requiring public bidding and award a contract to Badger Meter Company of Brown Deer, Wisconsin for the procurement of 13 Automated Water Meter Reading System data communications gateway devices in an amount not to exceed $52,8Mr�GauC �'d'+rt;�iect Subject Motion to waive the rule requiring public bidding and award a contract to Badger Meter Company of Brown Deer, Wisconsin for the procurement of 13 Automated Water Meter Reading data communications gateway devices in an amount• • exceed $52,890.50. Meeting Fiscal Impact Dollar Amount Budget Source Category Type Information September 7, 2021 - REGULAR MEETING OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT VILLAGE BOARD - true :•1 1 Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund Consent The Village of Mount Prospect operates a water distribution system that includes approximately 11,500 metered accounts. Water usage in the Village's distribution system is collected using a fixed based system that collects and transmits reads using wireless technologies. A fixed -base system does not require staff to drive a route to collect the meter reads. The meter reads are collected by a wireless system that has fixed data collection points located throughout the Village. Wired to the meter's encoded register is an electronic module (an Automated Meter Reading (AMR) module) that transmits the meter reading to strategically placed data collectors. Data transmission is accomplished utilizing a private, secure, 900 MHz radio frequency. Each AMR is expected to render 20 years of useful service life. Typically, each AMR transmits data six (6) times per day. The data collectors, called gateways, receive the reads from hundreds of nearby AMR modules and forward them to a secure server hosted in the Amazon Web 1 Services (AWS) cloud. The reads are transferred from the data collectors to the server using cellular connections. The only data transmitted is a masked meter number, reading and read date/time. No customer information is transmitted. Meter read data is transmitted multiple times per day typically providing 24 hourly readings for each meter with a high degree of accuracy; exceeding 99%. Presently, the gateways communicate with the server utilizing a 2G (second generation) cellular network provided by Sprint/T-Mobile. This system has been in place since 2014. It is a proprietary fixed -based automated water meter reading system developed by Badger Meter Company of Brown Deer, Wisconsin. The contract to procure equipment and deploy the AMR network was approved by the Village Board on October 1, 2013. In late June, staff received notification from Badger Meter Company that Sprint/T- Mobile will no longer support the Village's 2G data collectors due to technology obsolescence. After 12/31/2021, Sprint/T-Mobile will no longer operate or support its 2G cellular network. In addition, most other carriers have made similar announcements that they are either in the process of shutting down or have already shut down their 2G networks in order to make room for newer technologies. The sunset of the 2G network came much sooner than anticipated due to the recent merger of Sprint and T -Mobile. Staff anticipated obsolescence of the 2G platform and began the gateway replacement process in 2020. To date, seven (7) of the twenty (20) gateways in the Village -owned AMR system have already been replaced with newer (4G) equipment. However, discontinuation of the 2G platform has accelerated the replacement schedule and negated plans to systemically replace gateways in piece -meal fashion over the next few years. Currently, Mount Prospect owns thirteen (13) 2G data collectors/gateways that will need to be replaced by December 31, 2021. 2 At staff's request, Badger Meter Company has submitted a proposal to provide requisite gateways for the Village -owned AMR system at the rate of $4,068.50 each. The total expenditure is $52,890.50. A copy of Badger's cost proposal is attached. r .. Staff has considered Badger's proposal and made the following discernments: • All thirteen (13) gateways are seven (7) years old and at the end of their life cycle. The average life expectancy gateways is five (5) years. • The Badger gateways (Orion SE -2 LTE/LAN gateways) are solely owned and developed by Badger and are the only units that work with the Village's fixed base system. • Replacing only the modems inside the gateways was not deemed cost- effective. Upgraded modems (4G) to operate these gateways on the T -Mobile network are approximately $2,360 each. This cost is more than half the cost of a complete replacement gateway. Most importantly, this tack does not address the need to replace the balance of the gateway electronics in the near term due to end -of -life proximity. • Orion SE-2LTE/LAN Gateways are not purchased from foreign suppliers Huawei or ZTE (or other suppliers) that are identified as threats in The Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act of 2019. Alternatives 1. Waive the rule requiring public bidding and award a contract to Badger Meter Company for 13 replacement data communications gateways. 2. Action at the discretion of the Village Board. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the Village Board waive the rule requiring public bidding and award a contract to Badger Meter Company of Brown Deer, Wisconsin for the procurement of 13 Automated Water Meter Reading System data communications gateway devices in an amount not to exceed $52,890.50. ATTACHMENTS: Gateway202l MountProspectQuote. pdf GATEWAY LOCATION MAP.pdf 3 Badger Meter Domestic Quotation Quotation No. 3256548 4545 W Brown Deer Road Milwaukee WI 53223 PO Box 245036 Milwaukee WI 53224-9536 Phone: 800-876-3837 Fax: 888-371-5982 To VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT 50 SOUTH EMERSON ST MOUNT PROSPECT Illinois 600563220 Revised Date Customer ID 00121678 Effective Dates 06-22-2021 - 12-31-2021 Salesperson Proposal Subject Shipping Terms / INCO Terms Payment Terms 007605 JENNIFER BUETOW Gateway 2021 Mount Prospect PREPAY/NO CHARGE For SHIPMENTS > NET 30 DAYS BMI Part No.: 103-9134 Quote $35,000 Cat String: GA -S2 -LP -LT -ST -BW -BS -B91 -X FCA FACTORY Description Qty Unit Net Price USD Line Totals USD 13 4,068.50 52,890.50 BMI Part No.: 103-9134 Cat String: GA -S2 -LP -LT -ST -BW -BS -B91 -X Description: Fixed Network, Orion SE -2 Gateway, Line, LTE/LAN Gateway, Std Mtg kit, 100ft, BMI Supp SIM, Subtotal - USD 52,890.50 Total Price - USD 52,890.50 Notes and Assumptions If applicable, sales tax and freight, if included on the proposal, is an estimate and will be recalculated based on rates and tax status in effect at the time of invoicing. Actual lead time to be provided at time of order. To aid in processing your order, please include the Quote number on the PO that is submitted for this proposal. If you would like to place an order, please contact us at Utilityorders2@badgermeter.com or by calling 1-800-876-3837. Thank you for your business! Estimated ship dates subject to change based upon component availability, as a result of global supply chain constraints, or credit review. This acknowledgment is made subject to the terms & conditions found on our web -site: https://www.badgermeter.com/terms-and-conditions. Terms and conditions related to service units, training, and professional services can be found here: https://badgermeter.com/service-units-terms-and-conditions 4 Page 1 of 1