Title
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH METEREADERS, LLC TO READ WATER METERS
COUNCIL INITIATIVE ADDRESSED:
Continue effective financial management
CITY ATTORNEY REVIEW: REQUIRED
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
In 1986, after soliciting proposals, the City contracted with Metereaders, Inc. of Lake Oswego, OR to read the City’s water meters rather than continue to do so with City staff. After seven years contracting with Metereaders, staff again solicited proposals for meter reading services. From the five proposals received, the city council awarded a contract to Farwest Energy Management of Longview, WA effective February 1, 1994. Farwest had been reading the City’s meter since that time.
In recent years, Farwest’s performance had been deteriorating, and in 2018 they demonstrated serious deficiencies and were regularly unable to complete readings by their due dates. In June 2018, Farwest fell so far behind in their reading schedule that staff declared them to be in default and terminated their contract. At that time, City utilities staff took over meter reading duties and has continued reading meters.
Since that time, staff has identified significant inefficiencies in the route sequencing, and hundreds of meter condition deficiencies that were not reported to the City. Staff is working to revise routing sequencing and to identify all deficient meter conditions and schedule them for repair. Staff has also determined that it is not the best use of resources to continue reading meters with City staff and recommends contracting with a different company to provide meter reading services at this time.
Due to an urgent need to resume contracting meter reading services and improve meter reading efficiency, and to allow staff to resume their normal duties and to repair the deficient meters, staff researched companies performing such services in this area and identified Metereaders as the preferred company. Metereaders currently reads meters for Beacon Hill Water and...
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