94-213A Resolution No. 94-213
RESOLUTION
ACCEPTING THE PROPOSAL OF B. N. AUSTIN FOR
METER READING SYSTEM NETWORKING
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN,
ILLINOIS, that Richard B. Helwig, City Manager, be and is
hereby authorized and directed to accept the proposal on
behalf of the City of Elgin of B. N. Austin for meter reading
system networking, a copy of which is attached hereto and made
a part hereof by reference.
s/ George VanDeVoorde
George VanDeVoorde, Mayor
Presented: August 10, 1994
Adopted: August 10, 1994
Omnibus Vote: Yeas 7 Nays 0
Attest:
s/ Dolonna Mecum
Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk
BNAustin
50 W. Liberty St. Suite 905
Reno, Nevada 89501
Phone (702) 329-6900
Fax (702) 329-7063
July 15, 1994
City of Elgin A
Atten: Larry Diebert
Water System Superintendent
375 W. River Road
Elgin, IL 60120
Dear Mr. Diebert
This proposal is provided to the City of Elgin to enable improved access to both the
Badger Meter reading system (currently located in the Meter Shop) and to Utility Billing
and other information currently residing on the city's AS400 computer system.
BACKGROUND
The City of Elgin utilizes an"inbound" meter reading system from Badger Meter, Inc.
Sending units attached to the customer's meter periodically(i.e. monthly), initiate a call to
a specially equipped PC located in the Meter Shop and transmit an identifier and a current
reading. Because the aformentiond PC is standalone, Elgin's water bills are generated via
a manual download of the Meter Shop PC to floppy disk and an upload to the City's
AS400 based utility billng software at City Hall.
Currently, when a special read is originated by city staff due to change of occupancy, a
questioned bill, system maintenance or troubleshooting, a call must be initiated from this
same heavily utilized PC. Under the current process, these special reads cannot be
performed by the business office, where most customer generated requests originate.
Instead: (1) the business office contacts the meter shop by phone
(2) meter shop retrieves requisite account name and number information from
an AS400 terminal
(3)meter shop moves to the dedicated PC (and associated phone line) and
initiates the phone call to perform the read
Because the customer must be at home to answer the call for the system to operate, a
special or demand read involves the coordination of a minimum of three people in three
separate locations with the most critical participant, the Meter Shop, not privy to the
initiating conversation between the customer and business office.
Mr. Larry Diebert
Water System Superintendent
page 2 of 4
The status quo is growing increasingly unwieldy as only 7,000 meters have been
automated of a total which will approach 30,000 in the next several years.
The system can be much improved by including all involved staff and locations in a Wide
Area Network wherein authorized users at any location can access information from either
the Badger Meter PC or Utility Billing System from a single desktop computer. Business
office staff could perform the demand reads from their desks without involving the Meter
Shop, meter read information can be accessed on demand and/or automatically delivered
to the utility billing system. Optionally, the WAN could enable the Badger Meter PC and
database to be supported by a parallel or redundant PC as the loss of that single machine
would currently severely impact utility operation.
PROPOSAL
BNAustin proposes to provide the improved access through the development of a custom
Meter Application addition to Elgin's existing AUSTINVUE software (sample attached).
The Meter Application will be a Windows based program which will provide simultaneous
access and retrieval of information (currently residing on more than one computer) in a
single display. The implementation will require the expansion/development of Elgin's
Wide Area Network (WAN) to include the Meter Shop, Business Office, and Water Plant
(optional).
The project encompasses three primary tasks:
1) Wide Area Network Expansion
A connection from the City Hall Business office through the existing LAN will be
made to the Meter Shop. The Meter Shop will install a Novell NetWare LAN
with a 10 user license which includes support for 10 PC's or printers and WAN
connection from the File Server.
City Hall Requirements:
Wiring 1000.00
MPR+WAN software 1096.00
Synch+V.35 WAN adapter 1000.00
Penril #5056-5, DSU 645.00
Installation 690.00
Subtotal 4431.00
Mr. Larry Diebert
Water System Superintendent
page 3 of 4
Meter Shop Requirements:
Wiring 1000.00
File Server/Pentium 66 MHz, w/32 MB RAM,
545 MB hdd, Ethernet MC 5671.00
Novell NetWare V3.12 715.00
8 port 10Base-T Ethernet hub 165.00
MPR+WAN software 1096.00
Synch+ V.35 WAN adapter 1000.00
Penril#5056-5, DSU 645.00
Installation 920.00
28.8 KBaud Modem 300.00
UPS 600 Watt 279.00
Subtotal 11791.00
Water Plant Requirements:
Wiring 1000.00
File Server/Pentium 66MHz, w/32 MB RAM,
545 MB hdd, Ethernet MC 5671.00
Novell Net Ware V3.12 715.00
8 port 10Base-T Ethernet hub 165.00
MPR+WAN software 1096.00
Synch+ V.35 WAN adapter 1000.00
Penril#5056-5, DSU 645.00
Installation 920.00
28.8 KBaud Modem 300.00
UPS 600 Watt 279.00
Subtotal 11791.00
2) Software Development:
Meter Application Development 15000.00
Badger Database translation complete
On Site Startup Assistance 5000.00
Subtotal 20000.00
Mr. Larry Diebert
Water System Superintendent
page 4 of 4
3)Workstation Additions:
Each workstation node must be Windows capable BNAustin recommends the following
minimum configuration:
486/66MHz w/8 Meg RAM, 256K Cache
3 1/2" F.D.D.
200MByte Hard Disk
SVGA graphic w/1 Mbyte VRAM
15" Color Monitor, .28dot pitch
WFW 3.11, DOS 6.0, Mouse, Keyboard,
Netsoft Windows-AS400 access
Setup and Installation at desktop
(10 @ 2600.00)
Subtotal 26000.00
Total Cost 74013.00
BNAustin software development and installation budget of$20,000 is based on our
expectation of Elgin's application needs. Should the project require more than a total of
300 man-hours of BNAustin time, we ask to be reimbursed at a rate equal to 80% of our
standard billing rates (see attached).
BNAustin would prefer to provide the complete installation on a turnkey basis including
workstation acquisition to ensure network and performance compatibility. The majority
of the cost is associated with acquiring the network and hardware necessary to support the
users and software. BNAustin is well qualified to perform this project and is well known
to many Chicago area municipalities. References gladly provided.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve the City of Elgin.
Respectfully submitted,
rE, JO.
Boy Fricke
President Accepted 1�. 1 012494
City Manager
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���:0„, Agenda Item No .
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Ag7ED a
July 21, 1994
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Richard B. Helwig, City Manager
SUBJECT: Acceptance of a Proposal for Meter Reading System
Networking
PURPOSE
This memorandum will provide the Mayor and City Council with
information concerning the acceptance of a proposal for net-
working the AMR (automatic reading system) .
BACKGROUND
In early 1991 the Public Works/Water Department began con-
verting all City water meters to an AMR system, which calls
in the meter reading using the telephone. To date more than
7,000 meters are on this system.
Two major conveniences of this system are: 1. The expense
of meter readers is eliminated as monthly readings are col-
lected via the telephone, and 2 . Final reads or other spe-
cial readings (those done on demand) can be made via the
telephone.
The AMR system as supplied by Badger Meter, Inc. , was de-
signed to be a reading system and not a water billing sys-
tem. Readings are electronically transferred from the AMR
system to the mainframe for bill preparation. However, bill-
ing clerks in the Finance Department cannot directly access
the AMR system. Currently they must call the water billing
clerk at the Slade Avenue facility for information from the
AMR system or to have a demand read performed.
Furthermore, we have progressed with the implementation of
the system to a point where the numbers and volume of instal-
lation and usage have increased to where the data management
portion needs to be expanded. The expansion requested and
outlined in the attached proposal from B. N. Austin will
provide for additional networked computers enabling all bill-
ing clerks to have direct access to the AMR system. The
Meter Reading System Networking
July 21, 1994
Page 2
rsystem expansion will also provide for a backup PC at the
meter shop not only for system reliability but also to speed
the installation process in the field. It will also allow
for preprogramming meters in the Meter Shop and for several
individuals to use the system simultaneously.
The firm of B. N. Austin was asked to prepare this proposal
because of its familiarity with the City of Elgin' s informa-
tion system and its proven performance in networking the GIS
system. B. N. Austin has performed preliminary testing with
Badger Meter, Inc. , and indications are that a system can be
developed to service the City's needs as described. This is
the next logical step in developing an automated water meter
reading and billing system to better serve the customer.
(See the attached memo from Denise Cox, MIS division manager,
dated July 7, 1994 . ) Once begun, the project will take 90
days to complete.
COMMUNITY GROUPS/INTERESTED PERSONS CONTACTED
None.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funds have been allocated for this project in the Water
Department' s 1994 budget under the 1992 bond project fund
appropriation #392-0000-795 .92-41, project #409416 . The
total price offered by B. N. Austin is $74,013 . However, it
is believed that at this time the system need not be extended
to the Riverside treatment plant, thereby saving $11, 791 from
the proposal.
LEGAL IMPACT
None.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the city manager be authorized to
execute an agreement with B. N. Austin for a total price of
$62,222 .
r
Meter Reading System Networking
July 20, 1994
Page 3
espectfully s b' itt d,
aEo •
James L. Kristiansen,
Public Works Director
Respectfully submitted,
Richard B. Helwig
City Manager
RBH:JLK:LED: jk 01140705 .594
Attachment
cc: James L. Kristiansen, Public Works Director
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;��:°`=�, Memorandum
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July 7, 1994
TO: Larry Deibert, Director of Water Operations (!
0
FROM: Denise 'Denny Lou' Cox, MIS Division Managed hS
SUBJECT: AMR NETWORKING 111VVV
Upon reviewing the AMR network proposal from B. N. Austin I
would like to inform you that everything seems to be in order
and within a reasonable price range.
I am pleased to see that this matter is getting some attention
and that B. N. Austin will be working on the issue. The use
of B. N. Austin with their current familiarity of the City as
a whole and the fact that we are very familiar ourselves with
their work and staff is a great advantage.
Two things I would like to bring to your attention are:
1) If there needs to be an area removed (or cut back) from
this proposal it would have to be that of the Water Plant as
the two necessary locations which are needed immediately for
this to work are those of the Meter Shop and City Hall.
2) The current Novel NetWare V3. 12 at City Hall is a 20 user
license. The users of this license will exceed 20 with this
proposal. I will immediately begin checking into what will be
necessary for this to be upgraded so that we have a license
which will hold the current users plus those proposed here and
have our side ready when this system is installed.
For your information the licensing costs for Novel
NetWare V3.12 according to the July 1994 issue of PC
Magazine are: 10 users $1400, 25 users $2080, 50 users
$2799, 100 users $3890, and 250 users $6999.
Again I'd like to say that I'm please to see this project
finally making headway as it will allow those at City Hall
working with water and Slade Meter Shop to have access to the
same information which helps the team to work more effectively.
If there is anything else which MIS can do for you with this
project please let me know. Have a wonderful day!
C
DLC
07/14/94