SENNETT - The Sennett Town Board has somewhat reluctantly agreed to a new water meter reading system that will speed up the process of collecting information, but will require property owners to spend money on new meters.
A vote to approve the system came last Tuesday night after a presentation from Richard Kaulfuss, of E.J. Prescott Inc., a distributor for water meters for more than 55 years.
He came seeking a resolution to provide the town with the new system.
The town board first discussed the possibility of putting the project out to bid. But town engineer Ken Teter, who visited the town of Scriba, which is already using the newer system, said that bidding the project out could lead to incompatibility issues.
He suggested going with this company whose readers are compatible with the Sensus meters already installed.
He suggested the cost range would be $125-$150 per household customer.
The board eventually decided to go with the new system, 4-1, with Jeff Herrick dissenting.
The town has already received a $28,000 state grant for the meter reading equipment in the meter reader's vehicle.
Kaulfuss said that Prescott has been the overall distributor for Sensus for the past 10 years and has operated in the Syracuse area for five.
The meter reading system consists of a box-like fitting that can be installed over touchpads already mounted on the houses.
“No other company makes a unit that sits on a touchpad,” Kaulfuss said. “It allows meter reading to be proactive. The meter reader can read the system as fast as he can drive the route.”
Leaks are detected faster because all meters can be read in the town without the meter reader getting out of the car. What he might have read in a week in the past can be read in a day.
Instead of billing quarterly, the meters could be read monthly.
The units carry a 20-year warranty. Kaulfuss said there was a three- to five-year payback for the system.
Peter Adams, a Sennett Zoning Board of Appeals member, asked about going with a fixed base system, where an antenna is put up that can read every meter.
Kaulfuss said this is usually the choice where monitoring is an issue. It can be done quickly, but the payback takes longer. He said he doesn't usually see a fixed base system in populations under 1,500 people because of the infrastructure needed.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
He came seeking a resolution to provide the town with the new system.
The town board first discussed the possibility of putting the project out to bid. But town engineer Ken Teter, who visited the town of Scriba, which is already using the newer system, said that bidding the project out could lead to incompatibility issues.
He suggested going with this company whose readers are compatible with the Sensus meters already installed.
He suggested the cost range would be $125-$150 per household customer.
The board eventually decided to go with the new system, 4-1, with Jeff Herrick dissenting.
The town has already received a $28,000 state grant for the meter reading equipment in the meter reader's vehicle.
Kaulfuss said that Prescott has been the overall distributor for Sensus for the past 10 years and has operated in the Syracuse area for five.
The meter reading system consists of a box-like fitting that can be installed over touchpads already mounted on the houses.
“No other company makes a unit that sits on a touchpad,” Kaulfuss said. “It allows meter reading to be proactive. The meter reader can read the system as fast as he can drive the route.”
Leaks are detected faster because all meters can be read in the town without the meter reader getting out of the car. What he might have read in a week in the past can be read in a day.
Instead of billing quarterly, the meters could be read monthly.
The units carry a 20-year warranty. Kaulfuss said there was a three- to five-year payback for the system.
Peter Adams, a Sennett Zoning Board of Appeals member, asked about going with a fixed base system, where an antenna is put up that can read every meter.
Kaulfuss said this is usually the choice where monitoring is an issue. It can be done quickly, but the payback takes longer. He said he doesn't usually see a fixed base system in populations under 1,500 people because of the infrastructure needed.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
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