by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — The public works committee discussed a variety of recommendations at its Nov. 4 meeting.
Less than $150 is the difference between hiring a Cobden company or a Renfrew company for the garage door replacement in Westmeath. However, until references and previous jobs are checked, the final decision won’t be made until next week’s Whitewater Region council meeting.
The committee received a recommendation from public works manager Bill Misener to award the garage door replacement tender to Browns Window Door and Glass in Renfrew over that of Wren Construction in Cobden, since it was the lowest bidder at $22,292.92. Wren’s bid was $22,441.80. It was noted the other applicant, Barry’s Garage Door, is from Micksburg and its bid was $25,807.19.
Councillor Chris Olmstead found out Browns’ had not done work for the municipality before, and questioned if the company’s work was known.
“I know Dennis Wren Construction has done a number of (buildings) in the area,” he said. “They just recently completed a lot of work for Renfrew County on the salt and sand domes as well as some other county buildings.
“I heard they did a great job.”
In response to Councillor Charlene Jackson’s question if references had been checked, Mr. Misener said providing references was not a requirement in the tender.
Reeve Terry Millar said he wants the tender award recommendation to be Wren Construction.
“There’s no money difference,” he said. “He’s local and his work is guaranteed and good. I feel that for $100, that money should be spent in Whitewater.”
Mayor Hal Johnson wants Browns’ work checked, because if it has a good reputation, council may feel obligated to go with them, since references weren’t required in the tendering process.
However, Mr. Misener said the tender stipulates the lowest tender may not be accepted.
Councillor Dave Mackay said he is only familiar with Barry’s, and he knows they do good work, but he doesn’t think council should be “cherry picking.”
“If you put out tenders and keep on cherry picking, nobody’s going to bid,” he said.
However, Coun. Olmstead noted it falls within council’s right to choose. He attended three different seminars on bidding, and it clearly stated council is within its right to choose whichever bidder it wants, as long as the tender clearly states the lowest bid isn’t always the one chosen.
As for checking references and previous work of the contractors, Mr. Misener questioned if that could be done since it wasn’t in the tender.
Council has the right to ask any question it wants before it makes a decision, Mayor Johnson said.
He suggested tabling a decision until the Nov. 18 council meeting to allow staff time to check references and previous work on the three contractors.
Chief Administrative Officer Christine FitzSimons agreed.
“In the spirit of fairness, it’s what the tender and RFP process is meant to be about and providing a level playing field,” she said.
Coun. Jackson agreed, noting, a final decision wouldn’t have been made until the Nov. 18 council meeting.
“I think we have to wait for the council meeting anyway to have it ratified, so I’m prepared to have staff get those references and bring a report back,” she said.
CAO FitzSimons said in future, it will be practice to ask for references as part of the tender package.
Tender Denied
The recommendation to award a slip in water/dust suppressant tank was denied by the committee.
“Why do we need this now?” questioned Mayor Johnson. “We have not needed it all summer.”
The dust suppressant can be put on with the salt trucks, he said.
Mr. Misener said the previous council had been discussing this purchase for quite some time, and Councillor Daryl McLaughlin asked him to put the tender out this year.
“We wanted to do liquid application for dust suppressant, not flake anymore,” he said.
Coun. McLaughlin said not only is the tank necessary, but a storage tank as well. This will alleviate having to wait until the company that spreads the liquid dust suppressant is available, he said.
If the public works department has a storage tank and the capability of spreading the liquid dust suppressant, it can be put on the roads by staff when the weather is right and the roads are ready, Coun. McLaughlin added.
Mr. Misener said the dry flake treatment has been used the last couple of years, but it’s not as good as the liquid application.
Treasurer Marsha Hawthorne advised this item was on the 2014 budget and the money was raised through taxation at $25,000 and since it wasn’t purchased, another $5,000 was added through taxation this year.
Coun. McLaughlin said since it was approved at budget, he questions why the item wouldn’t be purchased.
“This will make it a whole lot easier for us to get our dust suppressant on when we want to get it on, when our roads are ready,” he said.
It might be easier, but it’s less expensive to use the flaked dust, Mayor Johnson said. He further noted that the flake suppressant can be purchased at any time and stored for a lengthy time, indoors or out.
Mr. Misener said the township purchases between 15 to 30 1-ton tote bags and public works employees spread it out on the roads with the township truck.
“We find the application just isn’t as good as when you go along and spray the liquid on,” he said.
Reeve Millar questioned if the work is being done in a timely fashion.
When there are trouble spots in the spring, the dry dust suppressant is put down until the liquid suppressant arrives, Mr. Misener said.
“You put the liquid down anytime from the end of May until July, depending on the weather,” he said.
However, he added, everybody is looking for the liquid trucks at the same time, so they have to be booked early. The problem is it’s dependant on the weather — the liquid dust suppressant cannot be sprayed on if the road is wet. For that reason, having the capability to spread the liquid suppressant at the right time is what this purchase would mean, Mr. Misener said.
However, Reeve Millar said if the township employees are not able to get the work they need to do done now in a timely fashion (which was discussed in another committee meeting), they may not be able to find the extra time required to spread the liquid suppressant.
Mr. Misener said the manpower is no different, because when a truck and man are hired to do the liquid suppressant, a township employee must go with them to show where the suppressant must be sprayed. While it’s more expensive for the township to spray the liquid suppressant, because it would also mean using the township truck and fuel, it would be done when the roads are ready.
“There’s quite a few municipalities doing this now, this isn’t new,” Mr. Misener said. “It’s a convenience and it should make it faster. That’s what we’re looking at.”
The committee denied the recommendation.
Heating system tabled
The recommendation to award a tender for the heating system at the Mineview Garage was also tabled until more information is provided at the Nov. 18 council meeting.
Coun. Jackson questioned if this tender had been put out in the spring.
Mr. Misener said quotes were requested in the spring due to an emergency situation with one of the systems. However, a tender to get the heating system replaced was not issued, he said.
“If you would have done (this) in the summer, it would have been a lot cheaper than trying to do it now when everybody’s trying to get heating done,” Coun. Jackson said.
Mayor Johnson said the decision to award the tender should also be dependent on who can get it done quicker.
Mr. Misener said that information will be provided prior to final approval at next week’s council meeting.
Following up on a question by Coun. Olmstead, CAO FitzSimons said references will be provided at the Nov. 18 council meeting.
Coun. Olmstead said that is a good idea, because “heating and cooling seem to be very contentious items.”
Bids were received JW HVAC Services in Pembroke for $24,170.70; Hank’s Plumbing and Heating of Cobden for $27,120; PSL Mechanical of Nepean for $27,332.81; Valley Refrigeration Ltd. of Pembroke for $33,787 and VCI Controls of Pembroke for $34,154.25.
New sand storage facility
A recommendation from the public works committee to council is that it approve an RFP (Request for Proposal) for a new sand storage structure at the Westmeath garage.
A tender had been issued to replace the ripped and aging tarp on the current structure, but none were received, said Mr. Misener. He suggested an RFP be put out to either change the current structure or put up a new facility. The RFP would be for a structure that would be able to hold the sand needed at that facility, Mr. Misener said.
Coun. Jackson questioned if this item had been in the 2014 budget.
Mr. Misener said, “This has been on the budget for a while.”
Mayor Johnson said if an RFP were to be put out, he suggested going with a different configuration, which would mean a demolition stipulation would have to be included in the RFP.
Coun. McLaughlin said, “We should move forward and decide what our road superintendent thinks we need, bring it forward, get the plan in place, so that in the spring it’s ready to go.
“This has been going on for a number of years. Trying to get a new cover is an impossible task.”
Mr. Misener said it’s not impossible, but no one wants to do it. He noted two local companies who deal in fabric structures were contacted as well as companies who advertised in a magazine for road supervisors.
Mayor Johnson said make it a design-build RFP, which means the company would be responsible from start to finish for the building.
Coun. Jackson said Laurentian Valley recently put out a design build tender and they would offer assistance to Mr. Misener in preparing a similar tender.
CAO FitzSimons said the motion would have to be amended to a design-build tender from an RFP, which was approved.
Window replacement approved
The tender for window replacement at the Westmeath garage was awarded to
Valley Window and Door at a cost of $2,226.27. One other bid was received
from Tanguay Custom Carpentry for a bid of $4,633.
