Port Angeles vs. the Smart Meters
Port Angeles city officials have sent a letter to Mueller Systems, based in Atlanta, accusing the company of breach of contract because of ongoing problems with Port Angeles' smart meter program.
So far, Mueller Systems has been unavailable for comment.
So far, Mueller Systems has been unavailable for comment.
posted by Tom Harper at 1:54 PM
22 Comments:
This action is coming at least two years too late. It was obvious in 2011 that the new meters were failing to transmit data that could be deciphered by city hall. What a fiasco.
Is something only being done now because the new Public Works Director recognizes that he has a duty to stop frittering-away public money? (I don't know the guy. Is he any better than Cutler?)
It's disappointing that the city attorney has not been more active in investigating and advising the city on taking legal action. If things proceed per usual in this case, though, PA will hire an outside lawyer to handle any breach of contract claim against the meter company, because the city lacks the competence to handle the case in house.
If I read the clip right, the city is still going to try to go ahead with installing "Smart" meters.
As seems usual, the bright lights at City Hall seem not to have chosen a very competent contractor for the work.
"Is something only being done now because the new Public Works Director recognizes that he has a duty to stop frittering-away public money? (I don't know the guy. Is he any better than Cutler?)"
I haven't seen any evidence that Mr. Fulton is any better than Cutler. So far, he is just continuing with the same stupid approaches that Cutler started.
Smart Meters....zzzz....what a DUMB idea! Thanks Mr. DumBar!
Let's hope our new City leadership dumps Smart Meters, without further debate, in our City landfill transfer station, and gets on with real problems we have to face there on the marine bluff.
Someone please explain why it is that Port Angeles has such a sad history and pattern of hiring sub-par contractors and entering into dicey deals?
"Someone please explain why it is that Port Angeles has such a sad history and pattern of hiring sub-par contractors and entering into dicey deals?"
Look at who runs for office in Port Angeles. Do they run unopposed like three of the four city council members did last time? Look at the bonehead decisions they make. Do they hire or seek out the best and brightest, or do they fall back on friends, relatives and good ol' boy? Mayor DiGiulio is back! Tim Smith is back! Can Karen Rogers be far behind?
And there you have the answer to your question. New ideas and people (like Max Mania) get pushed out, so there's always plenty of room for the same old same old dead wood.
The anti-smart meter people are really depressing. It's the exact kind of fear-mongering and hysteria we saw with Steve Markwell and OAS. It gives me no hope for the future of our species that so many can be so dumb.
If you want to be upset about the smart meters then complain about the city hiring an incompetent vendor, failing to do their job of enforcing the terms of the contract, hiring another company to tell them what they already know and eventually they'll hire an outside attorney to sue the vendor.
There are no safety risks from smart meters compared to any other type of meter. It isn't any more likely to catch on fire and burn your house down than anything else.
There are no health risks from smart meters. They emit the same type of (non-ionizing) radiation that we've all been exposed to our entire lives from cordless phones, baby monitors, wireless security systems and microwaves. Did you even realize that? You should be wearing your tinfoil hat and tinfoil underwear when you use a microwave because they emit tons more radiation than a smart meter.
There are no additional expenses (aside from the capital investment) unless you were lucky enough to have a meter that under-reported your usage.
The privacy risks are real but minimal. No one is going to be spying on you in your home through the meter. Corporations will be eager to purchase usage data for better targeting of their marketing. No one is going to turn your power off unless you aren't paying your bills, just like now. Hackers aren't going to do it either, this isn't Hollywood where a few taps on the keyboard and anything can be hacked.
But don't listen to me. Go watch that stupid film Take Your Power Back and feel good about being manipulated into teabagger outrage. The fact that the Farmers Market is screening it is so incredibly embarrassing.
By state law, they have to take the lowest bid. You get what you pay for?
I'm wondering how you liberal/Democrat/environmentalist types are liking your new, status quo guy, Lee WithThem. Anyone expecting him to be as smart or as outspoken as Max was will doubtlessly be very disappointed. He's a meathead, seat warmer, not a thinker. I don't see any evidence of him being anything other than a go along to get along, status quo kind of guy. In other words, PERFECT for Port Angeles.
I voted for Peter Ripley. At least he would have shaken things up a bit, even if only by accident.
Has this smart reader system been proven in other areas before being installed here? If not why in the hell did the city go with it?
That would be Nash's showing the film in their barn. Not the PA Farmers' Market. What, aren't you ready for a "journey of revelation and discovery"? Don't you want to hang out with Nash and his young farmers and learn how the evil greenies and the feds are going to ruin everything? And make blood come out our your nose? Hopefully they will be passing out eco-friendly tissues for that.
12:53 - Sorry, but Ripley, or whomever writes his blog, is a CRAZY right wing extremist. But he certainly got a few "libertarians" around here excited! (talk about depressing) Or it could have been radiation from cell phones, smart meters, that caused the excitement.
The plumber guy is in a good position. Hard to qualify the experience of being the captain of a ship of fools. If he stays local, and not being a drama queen, might be a decade before he's appreciated. He's not Max. Anyone who appreciated Max has moved on. Get over it.
So, best to ignore idiots like you. And "can do" moderates, that can "get along" with everyone, and "get things done" screw all of you too. Honestly.
So, go stir things up, moron. Fucking incredible.
"The plumber guy is in a good position. Hard to qualify the experience of being the captain of a ship of fools."
Are you implying that somehow WithThem is the real "captain" of the council?
"Anyone who appreciated Max has moved on. Get over it."
Are you saying that the people who shared Max's vision have also left Port Angeles? Or that they've "moved on" to WithThem?
Frankly, it's difficult to see what there is to "move on" to in Clallam County. There are no leaders, there is little hope, and the entire area just keeps falling further and further behind the rest of the world.
So, yes, I voted for Peter Ripley, because he IS honest. Stupid, yes, but honest. And, as I said before, he would have stirred things up just by being there. I don't believe WithThem is honest, or will stir things up. And thus the decline continues.
6:35 - Thanks for responding to me. Sorry I was such a dick. I actually think you make great points but it's not exactly rational. Like voting for Nader, instead of Gore. Talk about stirring things up.
Maybe the toxic landfill will just slough off into the strait, all at once, that would be fun!
How is the fired art gallery manager being petty? Did I miss something?
I think the PDN commenter, that called him petty, and the 12 people who liked that comment, (PUBLICLY!!) are incredible! Sure, there is an "anti-petty" campaign, with 20 "likes" but it's too late!
Living in such a promising town, with so many stupid %&$baggers, unbearable.
I intend to call up Lee, and have a sit down with him. Then I'll know who I'm dealing with.
Or, not.
ARGH! Would Zac Garripoli SHUT UP ALREADY? He keeps saying idiotic things like "Spend 100 million and build an autoclave..." to take care of the dump, as though Port Angeles has a hundred million laying around. As if Port Angeles wasn't already carrying around a hundred million in EXISTING DEBT.
Zac, you're a fucking idiot! Moron! Stoopid, too! Stop with the "solutions" that aren't possible. It's like telling someone with cancer to just stop being sick - and to spend money they don't have while doing so.
Zac, you're a moron! YOU SOUND LIKE PETER RIPLEY WHEN YOU SAY THESE THINGS. Get it? LIKE PETER RIPLEY.
From the article today on the landfill: "The amendment, the sixth to the contract with Herrera, increases the total contract amount to $2.9 million, city Engineering Manager Kathryn Neal said.
"Councilman Lee Whetham said he understands that residents are concerned about the cost of design but said that work is so far only about 1½ percent of the expected total project amount."
And later: "The project is expected to total $19.6 million, with about $3.9 million from the state Department of Ecology that will not have to be repaid."
2.9 million divided by 1.5% is a total of $193 million for the project which doesn't match the stated 19.6 million total.
2.9 million divided by 19.6 million is about 15% not the 1.5% he stated.
Hey, remember when Alan "Ultra Liberal" Turner had that Sandy "I'm Just a Shill" Long sign up in his shop window?
Decent article in the PDN about the new development.
Sheesh, comparing Zac to Peter is like comparing a piece of fresh baked bread using Nash's scrumptious organic grains to a piece of extra-burnt toast made from stale Walmart bread!
Why not get an autoclave? I don't even know what one is, and I want one! Sounds cool! The city, state, and county will be bankrupt in ten years anyway, why not get some useful toys and clean up this DUMP in the meantime?
So, finally figured it out, not being alone, duh, the meter reader left my gate open last month. Is that supposed to make me want a smart meter? Is the meter reader bitter because he/she is a temporary meter reader?
Is there a city email out there that reads: "TIME TO LET THE DOGS OUT" ??? ...LOL
When I saw that Sandy Long sign in Alan's window I bought a Kindle.
Sandy Longshot had as much chance of getting elected as...As she did, actually. Coming in FIFTH in a five person race - OUCH! Though Sandy doesn't look too fit, her ego is obviously alive and well.
And yes, Zac IS a moron. Autoclave, autoclave, autoclave...When the dopes on the council barely know what an electric automobile is. Gimme a break. Especially since the city is already BROKE.
And you just gotta love how the city and county just can't gat along. Typical Port Angeles. Bicker, bicker, bicker. And yet some people still think this whole PABAPABACOC merger is gonna amount to something.
Yeah, right. They're all gonna work together to raise funds to but the Zac Garripoli Memorial Autoclave. You bet.
Post a Comment
<< Home