It wasn’t exactly a watershed moment, but the Fredericksburg City Council took steps during its meeting Tuesday night toward replacing the city’s aging meter infrastructure.
In a pair of 7-0 votes, city council voted to award a $5 million contract for the project to Badger Meter, Inc., and also approved using income from interest on a 2022 bond to cover $383,000 of a $500,000 owner’s contingency on the project.
Currently, the city’s utility staff must drive past radio transmitters to receive data on water usage, a process that takes place roughly once every 60 days, explained Robyn Shugart, the city’s Director of Finance.
By contrast the new system, known as advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), utilizes a secure cellular network to transmit data every 15 minutes. The frequent transmissions will allow for advanced leak detection at residences and businesses alike, Shugart said.
“This does move the city along technologically,” she said.
The project also calls for the creation of an online customer portal that residents can use to track their water consumption in real-time. The portal will be operational in 18 to 24 months, Shugart said.
Shugart noted that the project has been included the city’s Capital Improvement Plan for “a few years” and is already budgeted. By utilizing the Milwaukee-headquarted Badger Meter, Inc. — the city’s current meter vendor — software can be upgraded instead of fully replaced, saving time and money.
Earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted 7-0 to make several tweaks to the Unified Development Ordinance specific to landscaping. Senior Development Administrator Marne Sherman told councilors that she sought input from Tree Fredericksburg and the city’s Clean and Green Commission when drafting the amendments.
Among the changes was the creation of a new requirement that the developers maintain 50% of performance agreements for two years after planting trees or shrubs to ensure plant survival. Previously, the city would release developers from their performance agreement following a final inspection.
While a change requiring small (fewer than 12 adjoining spots) parking lots to include 180-square-foot islands might not produce wide-ranging effects, it did spark a conversation about alternative means of providing shade — and potentially, clean energy.
“I want to make sure that as we’re putting tree canopy requirements on parking lots, we’re not foreclosing the possibility of doing solar canopies on parking lots,” said Councilor Will Mackintosh, referring to structures consisting of solar panels arrayed over parking spots.
At 7 p.m. on April 16, the city council will hold a public hearing to discuss the fiscal year 2025 budget, including a proposed increase to water and sewer rates as well as increases to the admissions tax and cigarette tax.
A week later, on April 23, council will hold another public hearing concerning the introduction of a new fire tax and the real estate tax.
