Watauga City Council Workshop: Fee Schedule and AMI Project Presentations – November 10, 2025

The Watauga City Council held a workshop on Monday, November 10, 2025, at City Hall Council Chamber, 7105 Whitley Road, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Roll call established a quorum, with Mayor Art Minor presiding and Place 5 vacant. The agenda included public comment and two presentations: proposed changes to the Chapter 12 fee schedule and the Automatic Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project. The meeting was informational; no formal votes were taken.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Sayada Sayad, who provided an address in North Cauleville, Texas, thanked the Mayor and Council for nominating her to the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) Board of Directors. She stated she brought over 200 votes from the Tarrant County College District in the 2024 TAD board appointment election. She cited a 2004 voting error in which Tarrant County College received 505 votes instead of 305, causing combined losses of 118 votes for ISDs, 22 votes for commercial account holders, and 60 votes for cities, and said Watauga may have nearly lost one vote last year. She noted the matter remains under investigation, with a TAD meeting scheduled for two days later at 9:00 a.m.
• Sayad also said the newly appointed TAD board voted 9-0 in February 2025 to delete the property value study requirement from the chief appraiser's performance metrics, which she stated had been part of the employment contract for over 40 years. She expressed support for changes from the 89th legislative session, particularly Bill 973, which she said requires the appraisal district to follow Tax Code Section 23.01 and appraise property as of January 1. She asked for the Council's votes and noted that the previous appointee never showed up to entity meetings.

Presentation: Chapter 12 Fee Schedule Proposed Changes

• City Manager Sandra Gibson presented the proposed fee schedule changes, which were reviewed by the city attorney and do not require a public hearing.
• Convenience fees: The current $2.25 convenience fee is a pass-through charged by Tyler, the city's software provider. The city is legally allowed to charge up to 5% for credit card processing costs. The proposal would pass through processor-specific rates instead of a flat fee, including 3.5% for utility billing, 3.75% for another processor, and 4.9% for the fire department's processor. Cash, checks, and automatic bank draft payments would remain fee-free.
• Alcoholic beverage fees: The current $30 permit fee would be eliminated because SB 1008 prohibits cities from charging that fee when alcohol is provided at food service establishments and retail stores. A permit may still be required.
• Fire department mitigation fees: Vehicle fees for hazmat, standby, and accident blocking would be unified from $448 and $560 to $500 for both engines and trucks, plus a minimum hourly rate covering shift and crew personnel. Structure fires would move to a more detailed fee schedule covering vehicle, staffing, specialized equipment, equipment damage, and securing/boarding operations. Extended operations beyond two hours and illegal fires would also use the new fee structure.
• Fire marshal inspection and permitting fees: Certificates of occupancy would increase from $60 to $75, temporary COs from $60 to $75, after-hours inspections would be billed hourly, and annual fire marshal inspection permits would be based on square footage. Tent special permits would be $30 for the first 30 days instead of the first 130 days. New or revised fees were also proposed for special events, boarding homes, short-term rentals, food trucks, and late inspections.
• Business regulations: Section 12.22 would add boarding home registration, permit, inspection, and reinstatement fees tied to an ordinance expected at the regular meeting.
• Boarding home discussion: Council members asked whether the proposal would allow boarding homes in single-family districts. The city attorney and staff clarified that the proposal is not a zoning change and would not override single-family zoning; it is a business regulation designed to allow inspection and enforcement of state-modeled boarding home regulations and to identify unregulated group or boarding homes. Councilman Hill noted that some assisted-living and group homes are exempt from municipal zoning under state law, so the city cannot regulate them through zoning. A council member warned the topic could generate public concern and asked for clear communication about what the ordinance does and does not do.

Presentation: Automatic Meter Infrastructure (AMI) Project

• Finance Director Jennifer Calvert presented the AMI project overview, with Badger Meter representative Alan Brees and representatives from Atlas Utility Supply available for questions.
• A rate increase effective January 1, 2025, approved with the 2024 CIP, budgeted $3.5 million for AMI. A complete meter replacement was estimated at about $3.6 million.
• Staff recommended retrofitting the city's existing Badger meters with new registers and cellular endpoints rather than replacing all meters. Materials were estimated at about $1.9 million, and contracted installation was estimated at about $300,000, allowing completion in less than five months compared with several years if done by the city's three meter readers. An RFP for installation drew four vendor proposals; the low proposal was reported as $38,000, which appears inconsistent with the $300,000 installation estimate in the transcript.
• The city has used Atlas Utility Supply for Badger meters for more than 20 years. Roughly 50% of meters are 20 years old and 50% are newer, but staff said meter condition is based more on consumption than age and there is no indication of widespread meter failure. The retrofit does not require shutting off water service; the register is replaced and a cellular endpoint is attached to the lid. Damaged or missing lids will be replaced as part of the project.
• Benefits cited include reduced manual meter reading, fewer billing errors and rereads, lower water loss, real-time data, leak notifications, and better operational efficiency. The city has already reduced its field technician team from four to three by shifting one employee to public works.
• Alan Brees demonstrated the customer portal and app, which the transcript refers to as Ion Water/Beacon. He said about 3,000 utilities use the system and about five million radio devices have been installed. Residents can view daily and hourly usage, receive leak alerts by email, text, or app, compare usage over time, see weather data, locate their meter by GPS, and export data. The upgraded system will provide 15-minute readings, or 96 reads per day. The demonstration showed a current leak at 1.5 gallons per hour.
• On data security, Brees said the system transmits only the meter ID and readings, not personally identifiable information. Data is encrypted with AES 256-bit encryption, runs on a VPN, and Badger Meter complies with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 audits.
• Council members asked about technology choices. Staff said the city is staying with disk meters because the existing infrastructure is already in place and register failures are more likely than disk failures. Cellular LTE-M was chosen over LoRaWAN because it requires no city-owned infrastructure and relies on existing cellular networks. Valve-equipped shutoff meters cost about $250 more per meter and are recommended mainly for special situations or repetitive non-payment; Galveston was cited as an example of using valve meters for storm preparation. AI analytics tools are not yet publicly released but are in beta.

Key Outcomes

• The workshop was informational; the Council took no formal action or votes.
• The proposed Chapter 12 fee schedule changes, including the boarding home fees and related ordinance, are scheduled to be considered at the regular meeting following the workshop.
• Staff recommended moving forward with the AMI retrofit approach instead of a full meter replacement. The installation RFP results and contract are expected to be presented at the December meeting.
• The city plans a public communication and outreach plan for AMI, including utility bill inserts, social media, website updates, and in-person assistance at parks, the library, and the senior center.
• The workshop adjourned at 6:36 p.m., and the regular council meeting was scheduled to begin at 6:50 p.m.