5.5. SR 01-10-2000ity of
iver
MEMORANDUM
Item #5.5.
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor & City Council ~j
Klaers, City Administratd~
Pat
January 10, 2000
WWTS Lift Station Alarm System
City Engineer Terry Maurer, WWTS Chief Operator Gary Leirmoe, and I have
met to discuss the alarm system needs for the city lift station system. Initially
this issue was discussed with Finance Director Lori Johnson during the budget
process and we had a sense early on that the best bid, product, and service
would ultimately be coming from the Municipal Utilities. Utilities General
Manager Bryan Adams has provided us with a quote for installing the lift
station alarm system and identified the maintenance/operating expenses.
Without a doubt, an improved alarm/early warning system is needed to protect
the city's investment in the lift stations and to protect our citizens so that
back-ups can be prevented as much as possible. City Engineer Terry Maurer
will be in attendance at the City Council meeting to answer questions the
council may have regarding this proposal.
The estimate in the budget was $20,000 for this capital improvement. Since
the cost is more than this amount, the balance will have to be funded from the
WWTS reserve, which has sufficient funds for this expenditure.
Recommendation
Please see the recommendation in the attached memo from Chief Operator
Gary Leirmoe.
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
2ity of
iver
MEMORANDUM
Item #
5.5.
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor & City Council
Gary Leirmoe, WWTS Chief Operator
January 10, 2000
SUBJECT: Lift Stations Alarm System
The current lift station alarm system consists of an audible horn and flashing
light. This system relies on residents to hear the horn or see the light and call
Sherburne County, and then the on-call WWTS operator is paged. Also, in the
event of a power outage, the alarm system is disabled. There have been sewer
back-ups in the past because of this problem.
I have obtained quotes from several suppliers for a new system with estimates
ranging from $80,000 to $207,000. These systems are much more elaborate
than what is needed, and service may be a problem.
Elk River Municipal Utilities has proposed a viable system that would fit our
needs for $32,000, plus an additional $240/month for monitoring. This system
is DC powered so outages would not be a problem. Additionally, with a local
company, service would not be a problem. As we gain more lift stations (we
currently have 16), this system can be upgraded. I feel our current alarm
system is outdated, therefore I am requesting authorization to have Elk River
Utilities install and maintain the cellular phone alarm system.
Action Requested
Council authorization to allow Elk River Utilities to install and maintain a
cellular phone alarm system at an initial cost of $32,000, plus an additional
$240/month monitoring charge.
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
Pat Klaers - City of Elk River
322 King Avenue
Elk River, Minnesota 55330
Phone (612) 441-2020
Fax (612) 441-8099
Elk River Utilities will provide all labor & material necessary to install and make
operational an alarm communicator at each lift station for the Elk River Sanitary Sewer
Department at a cost of $2,000.00 each. A common alarm will be initiated upon failure
ofA. C. power, low level, or high level.
Each lift station will consist of the following equipment:
1. 1-Control Set
2. 1-High level alarm
3. 1-Low level alarm
4. 1-A.C. Failure Alarm
5. 1-Communicator
6. 1-Power Supply
The alarms will communicate over the existing cellular network using the digital
bandwave. The system will test itself weekly for communication and if there is no signal
received it will be reported to you. The signals will be reported to the corporation that
has developed this network (Uplink) and from there it will be transmitted to our central
station (IDC). IDC will then call your people to let them know which lift station has a
problem.
The monitoring costs will be $60.00 per four lift stations per month. 14 lift stations
would then be calculated for the amount of $240.00 per month. As you add two more lift
stations the monitoring will not increase. If adding more than two, it would increase at
$60.00 per month for the next 1-4 lift stations. Each lift station will have an $8.00 initial
hook - up fee. This fee is not included in the installation price quoted above.
We desire to test each site to ensure adequate communication between sites before this
proposal is accepted. We will perform these tests at our own expense within the next 2
weeks. Initial investigation indicates that adequate communication does exist.
The installation of these controls will be done over the course of a few months, with the
last to be installed by the end of March 2000.
If there are any questions or concerns please call us.
Th~nk you,
Elk RiYer Municipal Utilities
Security System Division