Village Council Workshop

Village of Wellington 12300 Forest Hill Blvd Wellington, FL 33414 Action Summary - Final Monday, November 6, 2023 3:00 PM UTILITIES METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT OVERVIEW Village Hall - Conference Rooms 1E & 1F Village Council Workshop Anne Gerwig, Mayor Michael Napoleone, Vice Mayor John T. McGovern, Councilman Michael Drahos, Councilman Tanya Siskind, Councilwoman While this is a public meeting, there will be no opportunity for public comment at this workshop. This workshop will be Iive streamed, recorded and posted to the Village website for viewing. Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final November 6, 2023 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Gerwig called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. Council Members in Attendance: Anne Gerwig, Mayor; Michael Napoleone, Vice Mayor; and John McGovern, Councilman. Council Members Absent: Michael Drahos, Councilman; and Tanya Siskind, Councilwoman. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. UTILITIES METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT OVERVIEW Mr. Barnes stated that this is the Utilities Meter Replacement Project Overview. Ms. Quickel introduced the item. She stated that Anjuli Panse, Utilities Director, Bradley Wolak, Manager Operations - Utilities Administration, Corey Robinson, Utilities Superintendent - Water Distribution Services and Dale Pennington, Business Development Manager from E-Source are present. She said that this is an overview and outline of the two plus years project time frame. She mentioned that the project is fairly intense and extensive with multiple phases. Mayor Gerwig asked if the sending unit is the base of the problem. Ms. Quickel said that staff will go into a lot of detail. Ms. Panse discussed the meters and lifespan. She noted the recent testing of 300 meters as a comprehensive sample. She said that the testing did show some decline, which is normal for the expected range of the 14-year-old meters. Mayor Gerwig asked what is the warranty on the meters. Mr. Robinson said that it is a five year warranty for accuracy. Ms. Panse said that this is separate from the battery as each component has its own warranty. Ms. Cohen mentioned that Mayor Gerwig is thinking about another issue that has a twenty year warranty, ten year full warranty and the remaining ten years were pro-rated. Village of Wellington Page 1 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final November 6, 2023 Ms. Panse conducted a Meter Replacement Project Update Presentation. She discussed the Project Overview, and Project Background. Mayor Gerwig asked if the Engineering Department was involved. Ms. Panse answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. Ms. Panse continued and discussed the Meter System Assessment and Strategic Plan Overview. Mr. Pennington provided an overview of the water meter systems. He discussed AMI- Advanced Metering Infrastructure and how an Endpoint is read. Mayor Gerwig asked how many meters are read by AMI. Ms. Quickel said that all except approximately 560 meters. She said that these meters are being read manually. Mr. Pennington said that the meters are at the end of their lifecycle for the batteries. He stated this is why it is very strategic to determine if the old technology will be used or migrate to new technology. He said that the cost difference is not high as both require radios. He continued and discussed the Cellular Networks. Mayor Gerwig asked if this is the same system used for the drainage relay information. Ms. Quickel stated that more detailed information will be shown when we get there. Mr. Pennington continued and discussed the Software & Data Management. He said that there is a lot more data being fed into the system and the Village will need software to manage it. There was discussion between Mr. Pennington and Mayor Gerwig regarding the meters, data points, analytics and lifecycle of meters. Mr. Pennington discussed the AMI Network Options. Mayor Gerwig commented on the relay for SCADA. Mr. Pennington responded to Mayor Gerwig's comment. He mentioned that the big change has been the migration into cellular due to pricing. He Village of Wellington Page 2 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final November 6, 2023 said that the pricing models have been changed over the last three years for the Cellular - LTE-M models which reduces the burden of the utility itself. Mayor Gerwig inquired if there is a concern regarding the LTE's not being used. Mr. Pennington said that is a contractual license for 20 years. Mayor Gerwig asked if this will be phased out. Mr. Pennington replied no. He said that the carriers are contractually obligated whether is AT&T or Verizon. Vice Mayor Napoleone asked how would this work knowing the poor service that is within the Village. Ms. Panse discussed the Cellular Pilot Study. Mayor Gerwig asked about the Cellular Pilot Study locations. Ms. Panse answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. Mr. Pennington said that the key points for the data stream of a meter are very limited. He discussed the AMI Network Topology - Cellular. Mayor Gerwig asked if data can be retrieved from the Endpoint if there is no cellular data. Mr. Pennington answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. Vice Mayor Napoleone asked if data can be retrieved from an Endpoint if there is no signal form the meter. Mr. Pennington answered a question from Vice Mayor Napoleone. Mayor Gerwig inquired about IT storage. Ms. Quickel responded to Mayor Gerwig's inquiry. Mr. Pennington said that the software is very advanced it will tell you when something is wrong. He does not put a lot of stress on the IT Department. IT will not have any technology to maintain. He discussed the slide "Stay with AMR or Go with AMI". Village of Wellington Page 3 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final November 6, 2023 Mayor Gerwig asked about data privacy. Mr. Pennington answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. He discussed the benefits of proceeding with AMI. Vice Mayor Napoleone asked how would the customers retrieve the data. Mr. Pennington answered a question from Vice Mayor Napoleone. Mayor Gerwig asked if the data is real time data. Mr. Pennington answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. There was discussion regarding the real time data and system notifications. Mr. Pennington discussed the Financial Analysis - AMI vs. AMR, and Customer Service Options with AMI. Mayor Gerwig asked how can the system determine if water is being taken. Vice Mayor Napoleone asked about the meter rollout and access. Mr. Pennington stated that it is up to the Village. Ms. Panse answered a question from Vice Mayor Napoleone. Mr. Pennington continued and presented the Meter Strategic Plan Results. Mayor Gerwig asked what does a pressure port do. Mr. Pennington answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. He discussed Project Phasing. Mayor Gerwig asked who will handle the State Revolving Funds (SRF). Ms. Quickel answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. There were comments and discussion about backflows and notifications. Ms. Panse presented the Meter Replacement Project - NEXT STEPS. Village of Wellington Page 4 Village Council Workshop Action Summary - Final November 6, 2023 Councilman McGovern asked about the meter replacement. Ms. Panse answered a question from Councilman McGovern. There was discussion regarding the meter replacement and funding. Mayor Gerwig asked if there is funding in the Utility Budget. Ms. Quickel said that this is a 2-year project budgeted with $2 million in the 2024 budget, $4 million for the 2025 budget and another $2 million budgeted for 2026. Mayor Gerwig asked what is the benefit of the SRF. Ms. Quickel answered a question from Mayor Gerwig. Ms. Panse thanked staff for their involvement in the process. She mentioned that this is a direction that a lot of Utilities are going to. 4. CLOSING COMMENTS None. 5. ADJOURN There being no further business to discuss with Council, the meeting adjourned at 3:53 p.m. Village of Wellington Page 5