Council approves final phase of water‑meter replacement program, sole‑source purchase for roughly $4.3 million

The council unanimously approved the final phase purchase to complete San Angelo’s multi‑year meter replacement program. Public Works Executive Director Shane Kelton told the council that the city intends to sole‑source the purchase (agenda lists vendor name as 'Coron Main Inc') for $4,299,996 from the Water Fund balance. Kelton said the newer magnetic meters have fewer wearable parts, are expected to last roughly 10–15 years, and will reduce unregistered ("dead") meters and lost revenue while supporting required service‑line testing under recent EPA lead‑and‑copper rule revisions.

Kelton described the program’s staged approach to avoid a one‑year budget shock and said crews managed earlier implementation hiccups and now notify customers in advance of changeouts; most residential meter swaps take about 30 minutes. Councilmembers asked about hard‑water impacts, maintenance needs and billing‑cycle rollout; Kelton said the new meters are more durable and the city will coordinate with critical facilities (nursing homes) to minimize disruption.

Council approved the purchase 7‑0.

Note on vendor name: agenda language lists the vendor as 'Coron Main Inc.' The city’s procurement documents should be consulted for the vendor’s correct legal name (transcript reflects the agenda wording).