< PreviousWinnipeg Goldeyes Social Event To celebrate the Canadian Public Works Association’s (CPWA) National Public Works Week (NPWW), the Manitoba Chapter hosted a social outing at a Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game on May 26, 2023. The entire upper patio was booked, and the event was sold out, with more interest from members and supporters than there were tickets available. The attendees were treated to a buffet of ballpark snacks and a dinner, and the weather – despite being windy – was sunny and warm. A number of Manitoba municipalities and towns sent their public works staff as an appreciation for the hard work they do every day in our communities. It was a great ending to NPWW. Thanks to all who attended and we’re looking forward to booking a larger venue next year. 2023 SPWA Annual Golf Tournament On June 14, 2023, the Saskatchewan Public Works Association (SPWA) held its annual golf tournament at the beautiful Dakota Dunes Golf Links. There was some interesting weather, which is to be expected in June, but a good time was had with many opportunities to network with peers and other industry professionals. The SPWA would like to thank the sponsors, suppliers, and all the participants who took part in this fun event. Stay tuned for information on next year’s tournament in Moose Jaw. Photo courtesy of Andrew Stevenson. Photo courtesy of Mike Bowman 22 IN EVERY ISSUE • What’s New? Manitoba Chapter ASMA Zone 5 Meeting September 21, 02023 Vegreville, Alberta 2023 5th PWABC & BCMSA Joint Annual Conference & Trade Show September 26-27, 2023 Penticton, British Columbia 5 Foundational Practices of Leadership September 28, 2023 Penticton, British Columbia Flush Truck Operations Course September 28-29, 2023 Penticton, British Columbia APWA Winter Maintenance Supervisor / Operator Certificate October 24, 2023 Surrey, British Columbia APWA Winter Maintenance Supervisor / Operator Certificate October 26, 2023 Kamloops, British Columbia AMSA Fall 2023 Convention and AGM November 6-9, 2023 Edmonton, Alberta The Practice of Resilience – A Leaders Key to Healthy Success November 16, 2023 Online Workshop hosted by PWABC PWS Level 2 Institute Course February 26-29, 2024 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan SPWA Annual Conference February 27-29, 2024 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2024 North American Snow Conference April 28 to May 1, 2024 Kansas City, Missouri PWX 2024 August 18-21, 2024 Chicago, Illinois Focus on Public Works The American Public Works Association presents expert-led online education, trending technologies, resources, networking, and learning opportunities each month. Visit their website for the upcoming schedule. Upcoming EventsAfter the successful Contracts 301 Roundtable, SPWA is hosting the follow up education event, on Thursday, September 28, 2023 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Microsoft Teams It’s time to register! Roundtableparticipants will discuss: • Quick recap of earlier sessions • Focus on planning and writing of the contracts including understanding of the contract language and terminology • Lessons learned by the presenters • Follow-up questions Saskatchewan Public Works Association P.O. Box 131 Saskatoon, SK S7K 3K4 (306)705-7792 spwa@sasktel.net http://saskatchewan.apwa.org The Public Works Association of British Columbia is pleased to announce that it will again be offering a two-day in-person course for Safe Jetting Storm / Sanitary Infrastructure and Practical Field Application . This course will educate operators on the safe and efficient operation of jetting equipment used to clean, repair, and maintain storm and sanitary sewer lines. The courses include information on operating procedures, everyday problems encountered, how to diagnose, assess and resolve issues in pipelines, and hydraulics in sanitary and storm sewer pipes, as well as practical and hands-on demonstrations of jetting equipment used in municipal operations Operators will learn about cleaning techniques, equipment selection and general storm and sanitary operational improvements. This course will provide the operator a better understanding of general pipeline inspection procedures and equipment set up. Instructor Paul Bains, who currently works at Public Works Engineering for District of Saanich, has over 37 years of experience in the field, and has been teaching for the last four years across Vancouver Island and the mainland. Course Cost (per student): PWABC $630.00 for members / $750.00 for non-members (plus taxes) To register, go to www.pwabc.ca/training-and-events/ or email: executivedirector@pwabc.ca. 23 IN EVERY ISSUE • What’s New?Letting Your Money Work Hard for You It is not easy fixing farm equipment with rusted parts, greasy hands, and heavy lift- ing, not to mention the time spent look- ing for replacement parts or redesigning them if they cannot be found, just to save a buck. This back-breaking work ethic has helped him become a valuable employee at a utility company where he spends his time working outside in the heat, rain, and frigid- ly cold weather that is part of the Manitoba climate. The long hours working outdoors has weathered his skin and made this pre- retirement fellow look older that he actually is – with one look, you can see that this man has worked hard all his life. One of the most important lessons Gerald has learned is to save and invest his money. He has always been a believer in the power of long-term investments and, while working with me as his advisor, he has also become fond of dividend paying stocks, where the companies he invests in pay the I t’s not only Donna Summers who works hard for her money; I know my readers and clients are also all hardworking individuals, with extraordinary dreams and an unyield- ing spirit to achieve them. One of my clients, Gerald (not his real name), was shown the importance of hard work from an early age. He has always worked hard on the family homestead alongside his dad, who taught him the value of repairing instead of buying new. surplus of their earn- ings out to the shareholders. Dividends are nothing new – some well-known com- panies have been paying dividends for more than a century, such as the Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank, Toronto Dominion Bank, and BCE. Every month, Gerald sends in a por- tion of his savings to invest, and we dis- cuss companies that would allow him to become a shareholder so that he can enjoy the benefits of dividend income. We also talk about diversifying his portfolio and investing in high quality companies that pay and increase their dividends over time. When investing, we plan out the port- folio of companies based on the dividend cycles of when they pay their dividends. Most dividends are paid out four times per year, and some companies pay dividends on a monthly basis as well. Because each company will pay dividends on different schedules, we set up the portfolio so there would be close to an equal amount of divi- dend income coming in each month. We have also discussed the power of compounding growth with enrolling the dividends in the Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP). The DRIPs add up Many common shares can be pur- chased with the option of having their dividends reinvested back into the company, rather than receiving a cash payout. Consider the potential growth over the long term if your portfolio increases not only in dollar value, but also in quantity of shares. She works hard for the money So hard for it, honey She works hard for the money So you better treat her right (Donna Summers, 1983, She Works Hard for the Money) 24 IN EVERY ISSUE • Investment ReportSo, instead of working hard for your money, let your money work hard for you by investing in top companies that pay dividends, and then compound that growth by investing into DRIP. For more information, contact an investment adviser. w Charlene Birdsall, CPA, CMA, CIM, CFP, is a Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager for National Bank Financial. You can reach her at charlene.bird- sall@nbc.ca. National Bank Financial – Wealth Management (NFBWM) is a division of National Bank Inc. (NBF) – as well as a trademark owned by National Bank of Canada (NBC) that is used under license by NBF. NBF is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investors Protection Fund (CIPF), and is whol- ly owned subsidiary of NBC, a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:NA). The companies he has invested in have not only grown in value, but he is also receiving dividends that have compound- ed with the distribution reinvested in more shares. Compounding really has a snowball effect – it starts out rather mod- estly then gathers momentum. During our last meeting, Gerald brought up the impact of his dividend income in his portfolio. He realized that the dividend income was more than just a financial tool, it was a testament to his patience, discipline, and belief in the long-term potential of quality compa- nies. Dividends have not only provided him with financial stability but have also granted him the freedom to pursue out- side interests and – unlike his father – go out and buy new parts for the equipment at home. I told him quality companies that provide dividends tend to offer bet- ter long-term appreciation and greater downside protection. Gerald just nodded and let me know he couldn’t have said it better himself. There are several advantages to using a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) for your own portfolio: • Tax-Advantaged – the dividend tax credit. • Cost-effective – there is no commission to use a DRIP, no annual fee. • Selection – more than 60 TSX compa- nies participate. • Effective – DRIPs put your dividends to work immediately, instead of having the cash just sitting around doing nothing. • Dollar Cost Averaging – buy more shares at lower prices and fewer shares when the market moves up at higher prices. The result is that you have reinvested in more shares at a lower cost. • Simplicity – no forms to complete. • Liquidity – shares can be sold at any- time. • Compounding – DRIPs give you com- pounding; as your reinvested dividends buy more and more shares your divi- dends get bigger over time. As the years have gone by, Gerald’s investments have started to bear fruit. 25 IN EVERY ISSUE • Investment Reporttedious and time-consuming exercise, and – in the majority of cases – the original water meter readings were correct. Preparing for AMI water meters During the creation of the Request for Proposal (RFP), the Administration obtained the sizes of the meters from the Finance Department. However, it was later found out that the database had errors, including (but not limited to) the wrong sizes of the water meters, the number of water meters per prop- erty, and the wrong types of water meter. Further complicating things, the Financial Department did not inform those creating the RFP that City buildings did not have water meters, leaving the city with an insufficient number of water meters in types, sizes, and quantity. Later, these missing meters had to be ordered, which increased the project’s cost and delayed its completion. Before issuing the RFP for the purchase and installation of AMI water meters, the these visits, the water meter reads were returned to City Hall and manually entered into the Finance Department’s invoicing program. This was a slow process and occasional problems would occur, such as: • Improperly recording the water meter readings by the water meter reader. • Improperly entering the water meter readings into the City’s accounting sys- tem. • Restricted access to the meter so that the meter could not be read (in such cases, an estimate of the water used was billed to the customer). • The water meter readings were entered into an incorrect address. In addition, if the water readings were questioned by the property owner or the water user, an employee had to be sent back out to the property to read the water meter and pass the number to the Finance Department, to once again be entered into the City’s accounting system. This was a D uring the fall of 2020, the City of North Battleford in west- central Saskatchewan began the arduous process of chang- ing all the city’s water meters to Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) water meters. This article explores what the City of North Battleford did correctly, and explores the lessons learned about what might have been done better. Before AMI water meters Prior to this project, there were approx- imately 5,400 water meters in North Battleford, ranging in size from 5/8-inch to 6-inch meters. Before the conversion to the AMI water meters, the city had just one person dedicated to reading all North Battleford’s water meters. To determine bill- ing of water usage, the city was divided into three sections for billing purposes and, every month, a city employee would visit each property within a specific section of the community to read the meters. Following North Battleford’s AMI Water Meter Conversion By Stewart Schafer, Jeff Blanchard, and Candace Toma, City of North Battleford 26 IN EVERY ISSUE • Community HighlightsHyper-Sensitivity (EHS). Administration had never heard of EHS and contacted both Federal and Provincial Health officials to try and gain an understanding of EHS. In short, EHS is a condition where peo- ple claim to be sensitive to radio waves, causing health problems. The symptoms of EHS are comprised of headaches, fatigue, stress, sleep disturbances, skin symptoms like prickling, burning sensations, and rash- es, pain and ache in muscles, and many other health problems. During the Administration’s investiga- tion, it was determined the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Canada, and Saskatchewan Health Authority could not find evidence to support EHS. Furthermore, corporations such as SaskEnergy had already converted 99.3 per cent of their Also because of the pandemic, residents of North Battleford became fearful of let- ting workers into their homes to change the water meters. When the Province of Saskatchewan implemented visitor restric- tions, many citizens incorrectly assumed the government also prohibited service person- nel from entering residences to complete necessary work. This was later clarified by showing people the restriction policy, but there were still some who would not let the City change the water meters due to their perceived fears. Electromagnetic hyper-sensitivity During the conversion of AMI water meters, a local resident came forward and appealed to City Council stating that their family suffered from Electromagnetic Administration reviewed the RFP docu- ment, as well as the City’s bylaws for the installation of water meters, with their legal council. This helped to ensure the City met the requirements and obligations for the project, which proved to be tremendously beneficial later on. Tendering the project The tendering for the AMI water meter purchase and installation included the cost of the meters, the cost to install the meters, and the proposed timeline to switch the water meter to AMI water meters. During the conversion, the City required that a Project Manager be located on site while the work was being performed within North Battleford. As part of the tendering process, each firm had to give a live presentation to explain how their customer portal would work, as well as how their AMI collection program would interact with the City’s finance program for billing purposes. The customer portal was exceptional- ly important to Administration, as a poorly developed customer portal causes customers to be stressed and not use the system. During these presentations to Council, the City found several instances where the portals were not easy to use, or the supplier had to have the cus- tomer enter several portals to obtain informa- tion that should be easily found. Once the live presentations were completed, the selection team reviewed the information and selected the winning bid. Conversions of the water meters began in November of 2020. And then came a global pandemic At the beginning of 2021, the COVID- 19 pandemic arrived on the scene, and with it came a host of problems. First was the worldwide shortage of integrated circuits (IC) chips, which are key components of AMI meters. With the shortage of the IC chip, most suppliers were forced to slow down their production of products, and that included AMI water meters. The City of North Battleford was for- tunate because the RFP stated that it was going to change all the water meters in one year. By stating the one-year changeover, it increased the City’s priority with the suppli- er to receive new meters in a timely fashion. The City of North Battleford’s new AMI water meters are more efficient and accurate, and cut down on the time-consuming manual readings of the previous meters. Photo courtesy of the City of North Battleford. 27 IN EVERY ISSUE • Community HighlightsAdministration immediately contacted the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Water Security Agency when notified of this situation, recognizing that there could be a chance that water from an unknown source could enter the City’s water distribution system. Despite both agencies being aware there was a risk to public health, a change in provincial legislation prevented either agency from intervening. Because of this, Administration was permitted by Council to begin legal action against the property owner to order a cease and desist of pumping water from the cistern into their property. After the initial court proceedings, the property owner obtained legal counsel and was informed that the City was within its right to change and read the water meter on private properties. At that point, the prop- erty owner relented and allowed the AMI water to be installed, complete with the radio transmitter. Following this legal outcome, the second property owner then opted to allow the City to install the AMI water meter with radio transmitter. There have been no further incidents of refusals during the water meter conversions. Other challenges Another major problem encountered by the Administration was continuity of staff by the installation contractor where, dur- ing the water meter changeover period, the firm had three different project managers. This caused problems during installations, particularly due to new workers’ lack of experience. This resulted in lower quality installations and necessitated repairs by City waterworks staff on the new meter installs. In the final stages of the project, the City of North Battleford also noted that, due to a lack of continuity in project managers, poor record keeping by the firm had led to difficulties in substantiating the number of water meters which had been supplied and installed in North Battleford. After numer- ous meetings, and several long days, the exact number of meters and where they were installed was determined. The Administration and the supplier are currently working on the modifications to the customer portal to allow customers online access to their utility bills and to set insurance company would not allow anyone on their property due to COVID-19 health concerns. This disagreement continued for several months until it came time to convert the water meters on both properties. At that time, those property owners wrote and pre- sented a document to City Administration demanding that it be signed and returned to them. The document stated that Administration would be liable for the con- struction of AMI water meters, any damages to their properties caused by the AMI meter (if the AMI water meter was installed on their property), and for any of the family’s health concerns. Administration declined to sign the document. When the issue was later brought forward to the City Council, the Council did not wish to get into a private argument with the two residents and instructed Administration to turn off the water to the two properties until the water meters were converted. This resulted in one property owner installing a temporary cistern to their residence. Administration was unaware of this illegal modification until the same prop- erty owner called to inform City staff about water bubbling out of the ground by their curbstop. The property owner had forgotten to shut off the water valve below their meter, and when they turned on the cistern pump, the water was forced through the old water meter and into the lateral water line, resulting in the water coming out of the curb- stop drain and coming to the surface. The property owner contacted the City, thinking that the water main had broken and was worried that a sink hole would develop in front of this property. gas meters to AMI with radio transmitters, and SaskPower was starting to convert its power meters to AMI with radio transmit- ters. Additional investigations also indicated that cellular phones, as well as most wireless internet systems in today’s world, use the same radio frequency the AMI meters use to transmit their information. After review- ing the information, Administration recom- mended the AMI transmitters be used to send the data to City Hall. Considering their options, Council instructed Administration to develop a pol- icy that allows people to opt out of having a radio transmitter with their AMI water meter. Administration then proposed that a property owner could opt out of the radio transmitters only on their primary residence and the water meter would still be changed to an AMI water meter – but without a radio transmitter. The new policy stated that each home- owner who opted out of the AMI with radio transmitters must supply their water meter reading to the City’s utility clerk at the beginning of each month. In addition, every third month, a North Battleford waterworks employee had to be allowed into the resi- dence to read the water meter in person. A failure to give the monthly reads to the City’s utility clerk or barring staff access to their water meter, would result in a trans- mitter being installed on the AMI water meter, or a shut-off of the water utility to the property until a radio transmitter was installed. Finally, if the homeowner moves out of the home, the homeowner would be charged for a radio transmitter to be con- nected to the AMI water meter. Commercial, industrial, and institutional properties were not permitted to opt out of the use of radio transmitters to send water usage data. Council approved the changes to this policy. The legal challenge In 2022, two residents challenged North Battleford’s bylaw which indicated that City workers had the right to access their properties to change or read water meters, and / or install transmitters to receive water usage data. The first person claimed the City did not have the legal right to enter their property, while the second said that their Administration was unaware of this illegal modification until the same property owner called to inform City staff about water bubbling out of the ground by their curbstop. 28 IN EVERY ISSUE • Community HighlightsBattleford in 2008 as Director of Public Works. Currently in the position of Director of City Operations, Stewart has overseen the North Battleford AMI Water Meter Conversion to ensure the project had the necessary resources to be properly completed. Candance Toma has an extensive back- ground in journalism and public relations and joined the City of North Battleford in 2022 as the City’s Public Relations Coordinator. Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Management, and a Master’s in Science in Environment and Management. Jeff joined the City of North Battleford in 2020 as the Assistant Director of Operations and soon after was assigned as the Project Manager for the North Battleford AMI Water Meter Conversion. Stewart Schafer has a Degree in the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and joined the City of North the limit warnings on when and how the customers will be notified when there is a problem with their water usage. The limits include such factors as the maximum quan- tity of water used, continuous water flows, and low water pressure. It is expected that the customer portal will be available for use in 2023-2024. w Jeff Blanchard has a Diploma in Biological and Environmental Sciences, a 29 IN EVERY ISSUE • Community HighlightsNext >