Council holds off decision on automatic water meter reading

Taken up at the Oct. 17 regular Council meeting, meanwhile, was an update by Lisa Fleming of Ayres Associates on several projects in the city. The first was an income survey for work on Second Avenue.

“The survey is 90 percent done,” Fleming told the Council of prep work for the survey to be submitted next month as part of a granting process. Fleming then shifted to well drilling at ACE, where things were submitted and approved, it was made known.

“I contacted your DNR person and he said everything has been submitted and approved,” she said, with ACE drilling its own wells for work at the plant. Fleming said that ACE’s system and the city’s water wouldn’t mix until it got to the tank at ACE, “and then it won’t matter.” In addition, she said that ACE Ethanol planned to put an air gap in the tank serving as an end point, meaning that city water couldn’t get in the pipe situated above the tank.

Moving on to survey work on the Pine Street wetlands Fleming said there could be artificial wetlands at the site, something a new hire pointed out to her. The result if things pan out would allow for less bureaucratic tape regarding site fill, while the road exten sion could need sub-base to be put in depending on how poor the soils were in terms of clay and sand. Numbers on the road cost were pending as of Oct. 17 with no quotes from concrete or asphalt suppliers on hand. The end result means that the Pine Street road extension “might not get done this year,” as Oct. 15 was the mandatory cover date for work “no matter the temperature” and asphalt plants are due to shut down by Nov. 15, pending warmer weather.

Closing out the Council update with water news, water meters in Stanley could soon be auto read, pending a future decision of the Common Council. The plan touched on at the Oct. 17 Committee of the Whole meeting, would see Midwest Meter of Jackson Wisconsin install meter equipment with Orion Cellular LTE Endpoint at a price of $325 per house, multiplied by 1,000 installations citywide to come in at $325,000 total to the city. Additional training and Beacon engagement fees would see the one-time investment cost top out at $335,950, then incurring an annual fee of $11,400 per year for the service.

No action was taken on the proposal at the Oct. 17 Council meeting following the Committee of the Whole.

Daniel McCollough of Midwest Meter finsihes his presentation to the Committee of the Whole Monday Oct. 17. No action was taken by the Council. Photo by Joseph Back.