Subject:
Title
Cooperative Funding Agreement with the Southwest Florida Water Management District for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval of the Cooperative Funding Agreement with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project.
• Agreement provides co-funding from SWFWMD in the amount of $139,414.00 toward purchase and installation of a software system planned within the technology aspects of the AMI Project.
• The County is required to match the $139,414.00, in the same amount for a total of 278,828.00, toward the AMI technology costs. Funding is available within the project budget to meet the match requirement. The SWFWMD funding will be available October 2022.
• This funding will support setup of an AMI software program that will promote and encourage water conservation by utility customers.
• The AMI Project involves conversion of all Pinellas County Utilities analog meters (manually read) to an AMI-based, electronic meter reading network for the County’s water and reclaimed water utilities.
• The AMI Project is programmed in the Fiscal Year 2022 - 2027 Approved Capital Improvement Program.
• In addition to seeking this SWFWMD funding, the AMI Project is proposed for funding with $35 million from the County’s ARPA allocation.
• The recommendation of an overall award for the AMI Project, including the software program, will be brought to the board at a future meeting.
• This was not a planned revenue for the project, but SWFWMD submitted a request for agreement for our project, which must be executed within ninety days of their requesting date requiring approval no later than March 7, 2022.
SWFWMD Agreement No. 22CF0003711; County PID Numbers 001601A and 003769A. Agreement total is $278,828.00 and County match is $139,414.00. Agreement term is October 1, 2021 through February 1, 2029; Authorize the Chairman to sign and the Clerk of the Circuit Court to attest.
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Strategic Plan:
Practice Superior Environmental Stewardship
3.4 Reduce/reuse/recycle resources including energy, water, and solid waste.
Foster Continual Economic Growth and Vitality
4.4 Invest in infrastructure to meet current and future needs
Deliver First Class Services to the Public and our Customers
5.1 Maximize partner relationships and public outreach
5.2 Be responsible stewards of the public’s resources
5.3 Ensure effective and efficient delivery of County services and support
5.4 Strive to exceed customer expectations
Summary:
Summary
The Agreement provides for co-funding purchase and installation of the software system that will be implemented as part of the AMI project. The AMI project involves conversion of all Pinellas County Utilities analog meters (manually read) to an AMI-based, electronic meter reading network for the County’s water and reclaimed water utilities.
The Cooperative Funding Agreement provides a portion of the technology funding for the AMI Project. This funding supports the setup of a software program that will promote and encourage water conservation by utility customers. The software will include a utility dashboard for Pinellas County Utilities and a portal for all Utility customers.
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Background Information:
The overall AMI project, for water and reclaimed water utilities, includes installation and activation of all one-inch (1”) and less meters by a licensed Contractor. The proposed AMI Network is required to capture all data for all meters within the County’s meter reading platform. Theproposed AMI Network “headend” system will integrate with the County’s current billing system, System Applications and Products High-Performance Analytic Appliance (SAP HANA) and provide a customer portal along with “Network as a Service” (NaaS) and “Software as a Service” (SaaS) system support. The AMI project is programmed in the approved FY 2022 - FY 2025 Capital Improvement Program.
SWFWMD submitted a request for agreement execution to Pinellas County which needs to be executed within ninety (90) days of the requesting date requiring approval no later than March 7, 2022.
Paragraph 12.2 of the Agreement, pursuant to the provisions of Section 768.28, Florida Statutes states the County shall indemnify and hold SWFWMD harmless, which the County does not do per Resolution 06-70 attached. However, SWFWMD is historically unwilling to alter liability/indemnity language in its form cooperative funding agreements. The County Attorney has documentation from SWFWMD legal counsel stating that the County should assume as much until SWFWMD advises otherwise. Consequently, SWFWMD will not change its liability/indemnity language in this funding agreement.
Fiscal Impact:
SWFWMD Funding: $139,414.00
County match: $139,414.00
Estimated total amount: $278,828.00
The County’s portion of the Agreement to be funded through the Water and Sewer Renewal and Replacement Funds.
The revenue from this agreement was not anticipated and not included as part of the FY 2022 Approved Budget. This revenue from SWFWMD will be available as of October 2022 and included as part of the FY 2023 Budget development process.
Staff Member Responsible:
Megan Ross, Director, Utilities
Partners:
SWFWMD
Attachments:
Agreement
Resolution 06-70