City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: September 26, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.H
1 of 4
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Water Resources Subject: Award Purchase Order with Badger Meter, Inc. to Furnish and Deliver Water Meters
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
2. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Badger Meter, Inc. for the purchase of positive-displacement water meters for the Water Resources Division of the Public Works Department. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Section 2.24.250(b) and is for a total amount not to exceed $1,658,000 over a five-year period, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
2 of 4
Summary
The City of Santa Monica’s Water Resources Division is charged with providing safe and reliable water and wastewater services to all residential, commercial, and institutional accounts within the City of Santa Monica. Each account is connected to the city water supply through a water meter that registers usage for bimonthly billing for water and wastewater services. New meters are installed for new construction projects and to replace aging meters on an approximate 20-year cycle to ensure the accuracy of meter reads and billing. Staff recommends issuing a purchase order with Badger Meter in an amount not to exceed $1,658,000 over a five-year period for the purchase of positive-displacement water meters along with data transmissions fees to transmit customer water usage data for billing.
Discussion
The City owns and maintains over 18,000 water meters throughout its water distribution system which are used to record water usage so that the Billing and Collections Office in the Revenue Division of the Finance Department may establish the quantity of water used and wastewater discharged to be billed to the customer. Water meters contain mechanical components which deteriorate over time, resulting in a loss of accuracy as water passes through the meter without being registered. Replacing meters on a timely basis can reduce water losses or “non-revenue” water from the City’s distribution system. New meters are also requested for new construction or tenant improvements through the Public Works Department permit counter. The City recovers the cost for the new meter purchases and installations through permit fees.
On August 23, 2022, City Council awarded an agreement to Badger Meter, Inc. to remove and replace approximately 65 percent of the City’s existing meters and equip 100 percent of the City’s meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)-ready water meters (“AMI project.”) The AMI project will enhance customer experience by providing real-time monitoring of their water usage and leak alerts. The completion of the AMI project in late 2026 will result in modernizing the majority of the City’s existing water meters to Badger AMI-equipped advanced water meters. 3 of 4
Approximately 35% of the meters will not be replaced through the AMI project as they were either already AMI ready, scheduled for replacement prior to the AMI project, or were replaced within the last 7 years. Eventually all of the City’s water meters would be replaced with Badger meters with data transmitting abilities. The purchase order requested is for operational maintenance and replacement of the existing badger meters not replaced during the AMI project and any new meters requested to be installed by water customers.
Vendor Selection
This purchase order is being requested under the exception to the competitive bidding process for maintenance of the city’s meters (e.g., defective meters) and installation of new meters for new construction that are not covered by the AMI project.
Exception to Competitive Bidding
Staff recommends Badger Meter, Inc. to furnish and deliver positive-displacement water meters as an exception to competitive bidding per Muni Code 2.24.250 (b). This purchase meets the City’s exception to the competitive criteria (b), as the meters are proprietary to Badger.
b. when a good or service is copyrighted, patented or only available form one license holder, including, proprietary goods, original equipment manufacturers and/or exclusive distributors.
Environmental Review
The replacement of water meters is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15302 (Replacement and Reconstruction) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Section 15302 exempts Class 2 projects which “consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced”. The new water meters would replace existing meters with essentially the same purpose and capacity, and therefore, the award for replacement water meters is categorically exempt from CEQA.
Past Council Actions
4 of 4
Meeting Date Description
8/23/2022 (Attachment A) Bid Award for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Meter Replacement
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Water Fund to award a purchase order to Badger Meter, Inc. for the purchase of positive-displacement water meters.
Purchase Order Request
FY 2023-24
Request Amount Department Account # Future Years Amount Total Contract
Amount
$300,000 50500001.525080 $1,358,000 $1,658,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Thomas Poon, Senior Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Staff Report - August 23, 2022
B. Oaks Initiative Form - Badger Meter, Inc.