Demorest approves $70,500 for 300 water meters, but replacement timetable remains unclear

Demorest City Council has unanimously approved spending $70,500 to buy 300 replacement water meters from Consolidated Pipe, selecting the larger of two options presented to the city. The published council minutes record a 4-0 vote, but do not give the meeting date or say when the order will be delivered or the meters installed.

The purchase concerns the devices the city uses to measure water consumption and support customer billing. Council’s choice commits nearly twice the cost of the alternative under consideration—150 meters for $35,545—and could determine how broadly or quickly Demorest can replace meters, though the minutes do not identify the neighborhoods, customers or sequence for the work.

Before approving the purchase, council discussed two Consolidated Pipe proposals: 150 meters at $35,545 or 300 at $70,500. Officials noted that the meters carried a 10-year warranty, that the city had about 7,200 water customers and that its water-sales account held $265,000. The subsequent recorded motion chose the 300-meter option and passed unanimously.

City officials framed the decision as a choice of replacement inventory and cost, rather than a recorded dispute among council members: the approval passed 4-0. Consolidated Pipe was the vendor named for both options. The minutes preserve the warranty, customer-count and account-balance information discussed by officials, but do not attribute arguments for the larger order to individual council members or document public comment on the purchase.

The council vote is a completed authorization, not proof that the city has received or put the meters into service. The published minutes do not document a signed purchase order, payment, delivery, acceptance or installation. Separately, Habersham News reported that water-meter replacement was scheduled for discussion at Demorest’s Sept. 1, 2026 work session and regular meeting; that report establishes an expected discussion, not an action taken at either meeting.

The next public milestone would be a city purchasing, payment, delivery or utility record showing whether the approved order was carried out and whether its quantity or price changed. Residents still lack a documented delivery date, installation schedule and plan for which customers or areas will receive replacement meters first. The minutes excerpts also do not state the dates of either the options discussion or the unanimous approval.