Real-time Water Meters Could Detect Leaks, High Use by Borough Patrons

STONE HARBOR – Stone Harbor Borough Council began its Aug. 16 meeting with a presentation by its water meter supply company, Itron, concerning a proposed upgrade to borough equipment that will facilitate better management and customer service at its water utility. 
The technology will allow the borough to access almost real-time data concerning consumption patterns, potential leaks, and causes for unusually high bills for individual customers. 
In addition, new software that can be added to the system would allow individual property owners to view their consumption by logging onto a cloud-based application.
Water Smart, the additional software potentially available to individual customers, will not only track water use, but it will also use the data to provide tips on ways to conserve water.
The system eliminates the labor intensive task of reading individual meters since it uploads data from the meters to a central system which can display usage hourly if needed.
The borough has been using an older version of Itron’s equipment and is contemplating a system-wide upgrade. No formal action was taken.
Dredging and Beach Replenishment
An application requesting modifications to the borough’s permits for its dredging program have been submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The process used last year had serious problems and eventually caused the premature closing to that phase of the dredging plan.
The new process proposed by Sevenson, the borough’s contractor, will likely be more expensive, but Borough Administrator Jill Gougher said there would be no additional costs to the borough. Any added expense would be the contractor’s responsibility.
Gougher told the council that a public hearing on the proposed program would be held Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. in the council meeting room.
Gougher also said that the process to award a contract for the beach replenishment, planned for the fall, is running about one week behind schedule. The delay should not impact the completion date of March 15, 2017.
New Work Sessions
Council continued its discussion of a new format for public work sessions which are scheduled to begin in September. The concept pushed by Council member  Judith Davies-Dunhour, is an attempt to move much of the work done in committees to a public forum attended by all members of the council.
Davies-Dunhour hopes it will increase transparency and lead to more efficient handling of public business.
The new format will have a work session twice a month scheduled at 3 p.m. on each day that council is scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m. 
Three of the six standing committees will be scheduled for one of the two monthly work sessions. Committee chairs will remain the same and will have control over the committee’s agenda as they do now.
The promise to begin committee work into public view was a campaign issue for Davies-Dunhour when she successfully ran in the primary election for the Republican seat for mayor in the Nov. 8 election.
It also builds on a move by Council President Karen Lane, whose first effort on assuming the presidency was to call for more discussion periods as part of the formal council agenda.
All agreed that the effort is a “work in progress” and the format is likely to be tweaked as council gains experience with it.
Other Business
The Planning Board’s Outdoor Dining Committee recently toured the business district to assess the potential for outdoor seating and al fresco dining. No decisions were made on the feasibility of the concept, but discussions will continue after the season ends.
The partial natural restoration of south end beaches allowed the council to approve a shortened season for Hobie Cat owners who store their boats on the beach.
Council was advised that 11 Hobie Cats are back on the beach, and a prorated fee was established for the short season.
Undercover police are part of the effort to trim the illegal use of alcohol on borough beaches. Council member Mantura Gallagher said, “Blatant violators are being issued tickets.”
Although it sometimes seems the season just began, the council was told that the borough is experiencing the return of lifeguards to college. The fast moving summer is approaching the Labor Day Weekend period when seasonal personnel are thin.
An effort is underway to keep as many protected beaches open as possible through Labor Day, Sept. 5.
Responding to safety concerns, the borough is making plans to move its annual Independence Day fireworks display to one where barges are used.
This will move the display to the 95th Street Beach and require the event to be held July 2, 2017. Competition contracting for the barges and the borough’s recent move to this method for fireworks control meant that July 4 was not a possible date.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.