It’s about to get a lot easier and more efficient for Oxford Village personnel to read water meters.
Last week, council voted 4-1 to purchase 600 radio transmitters from Etna Supply in Grand Rapids for an amount not to exceed $78,000. Each unit costs $130.
In nutshell, these units transmit water usage information via radio frequency, which will allow village employees to obtain meter readings from their vehicles, up to a quarter-mile away.
Currently, they have to walk up to homes and businesses, and use a handheld unit to make physical contact with the remote readers located on the structure’s exterior.
Installation of these radio units should be fairly simple as they just ‘snap on? over the existing remote readers, according to Don Brantley, superintendent of the village Department of Public Works (DPW).
Brantley hopes to have them all in place by the first of the year.
‘That’s my plan,? he told this reporter. ‘I’d like to get them in at least before the snow flies. We’re going to start in Oxford Lakes.?
Council agreed to purchase 420 units ($54,600) for houses in the Oxford Lakes subdivision, 110 units ($14,300) for non-downtown businesses and 70 units ($9,100) for the central business district.
Earlier this year, officials budgeted $190,000 for this program, according to village Manager Joe Young. All the money is coming from the municipality’s water fund.
The radio transmitters are needed in Oxford Lakes because it’s very difficult for meter readers to walk this large subdivision during the winter months.
‘It’s too hard to get out there and read meters in subzero weather,? Brantley said.
When there’s a particularly large amount of snow on the ground, meter readers are often unable access the rear portions of Oxford Lakes homes where the remote readers are located. As a result, the water bills end up being estimated for about three months.
With the radio units, village employees will be able to obtain actual meter readings by just driving up and down the streets.
‘No more walking through the big snow drifts,? Brantley told council.
These radio units will also make it faster and easier to measure the water used by businesses located outside the downtown area.
Currently, village employees must drive to each of these businesses, so there’s a lot of time and effort expended between travelling and getting in and out of the vehicle.
With the radio units in place, Brantley said they should be able to read all the water meters for the businesses located along S. Glaspie St. right from the DPW complex.
‘As soon you (engage the) ‘radio read? (function) on the handheld (unit), it will start downloading them,? he said.
Eight of these radio units are already in operation, according to Brantley, including one located in the basement of the Northeast Oakland Historical Museum at the corner of Washington and Burdick streets.
Thanks to this device, he told council that building’s meter can be read from the village office just down the street.
Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth suggested potentially enacting an ordinance making it ‘illegal? to remove remote meter reading units. She explained they’re often taken down during home improvement projects and never put back.
Given the $130 cost of each radio unit, Brantley suggested making property owners responsible for replacing them should they be removed, lost or stolen.