Consideration and Acceptance of Bid: 2014-79 for Neptune Utility Water Meters (Purchase of water meters from HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc.)

Accept bid from HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc. of Flagstaff, Arizona, for the purchase of Neptune Water Meters in the amount of approximately $225,000 annually.  Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents

The City has not been under a contract with a water meter vendor for the past year.  The prior water meter manufacturer the City purchased from, Elster, stopped providing mechanical meters effective June 2013.  At that time, staff opted to purchase water meters for the next fiscal year through Badger Meter, Inc., a leading water meter manufacturer, with the intent of securing a contract with a meter vendor in the coming year.  The acceptance of this bid is the culmination of those efforts to secure a guaranteed price and supply from a water meter manufacturer.  All other bids were rejected as non-responsive for failure to meet pricing or meter specifications. 

Subsidiary Decision Points: None.

The City is currently purchasing water meters, as needed, without a formal contract in place.  This contract will allow the City to purchase water meters under a formal contract, with a guaranteed pricing structure.  This item is budgeted every year as part of the ongoing meter replacement/maintenance program.  The total budget is $350,000 which provides for both the meters and the water communication modules.

Repair, replace and maintain infrastructure (Water Meter Equipment).  The water meters are a key component for accurate water meter reads.

No.

1) Accept the bid from the lowest responsive and responsible bidder HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc.
2) Do not accept the recommended bid from HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc. and continue to purchase water meters without a contract on an as needed basis.

The City has approximately 20,000 water meters that are billed on a monthly basis.  The City utilizes many different water meter sizes (3/4" up to 10") and technologies (nutating disc, compound, turbine, etc.) to deliver water to City residents and businesses.  The recommended bid will cover approximately 99.5% of all water meters the City currently purchases.  The small number not covered by the bid are ordered on an as needed basis for specific applications.  Examples of special applications include: fire service meters and meters that require specific test plugs for maintenance.

The recommended bid with HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc. will allow the City to continue to use Itron meter reading technology.  Neptune water meters tie seamlessly into the Itron water communication modules and software.  This will allow the City to continue the transition to automated meter reading (AMR), or drive-by reading, and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), or fixed network reading. 

In addition, HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc. has a warehouse location within the City of Flagstaff.  This will allow a quicker turnaround from the vendor as vendor inventory will be kept close to the City's warehouse.

This contract will allow the City to purchase water meters under a formal contract through HD Supply Waterworks Group, Inc..  The Neptune Water Meters are fully compatible with the City of Flagstaff's Itron water meter reading system.

None.

This contract will allow the City to purchase water meters and have a formal contract/pricing structure in place.  A formal contract will guarantee delivery of essential components for the water system and ensure that there are minimal impacts to customers, such as misreads and incorrect billings, from failed equipment that the City is unable to replace in a timely manner.

Inform.