Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Utilities Department

TO:	Diane Stoddard - Interim City Manager Casey Toomay – Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire – Assistant to the City Manager
FROM:	Mike Lawless – Deputy Director of Utilities
CC:	Dave Wagner – Director of Utilities Bryan Kidney – Finance Director
DATE:	July 31, 2015
RE:	Advertise RFP R1505 for Advanced Meter Infrastructure Assessment.

Background

The Lawrence Finance and Utilities Departments provide service to 34,000 metered water accounts read manually or through a remote read system on meter vaults or areas that are difficult to access. Meters are read on a monthly basis by 5 full time meter readers with turn-ons, turn-offs, re-reads, and small meter replacement handled by 5 full time field representatives. A working supervisor oversees the 10 employees and an additional 4 temporary meter readers during the KU rush between the end of May and beginning of August. In an effort to become more efficient and provide better customer service, staff has been investigating Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems to enhance customer service, become more efficient in service delivery and provide improved diagnostic capabilities.

Project Details

The systems and technologies to deliver AMI are complex and rapidly changing. Staff is proposing to contract with a qualified consulting firm for professional services to assess the needs of the departments and help couple that with the latest technology in AMI for the water utility. The proposed system will read water meters through a wireless network, provide consumption data on at least a daily basis, provide new diagnostic capabilities for Utility Billing and Utilities Department managers and staff, and enhance customer service.

Project Funding

The project will be funded from the Department of Utilities 2015 Operations & Maintenance fund.

Action Request

Authorize staff to advertise a Request for Proposals, RFP R1505, for Advance Meter Infrastructure Assessment.