The County of Wetaskiwin will move ahead with expansion of the Alder Flats wastewater system after examining results of a project tender Dec. 10. The tender was presented at the regular Public Works council meeting.
Director of Public Works Neil Powell presented the tender to councilors along with his comments in the agenda package.
“Since 2016, efforts have been in place to expand the wastewater collection system in the Hamlet of Alder Flats,” stated Powell in his report.
“Initial plans included obtaining funding under the Building Canada Fund (BCF) and completing an engineering study to obtain a probable estimate of project costs necessary for petition and approval of a local improvement plan.”
Powell’s report presented the following bidders and the amount they wanted for the work listed:
UG Excavating Ltd $1,711,170.96
Elite Site Services $1,870,084.00 – Non-Compliant
Urban Dirtworks Inc. $1,990,556.12
Parkway Enterprises Ltd. $2,272,587.82
PME Inc. $2,423,713.79
PSA Construction $2,507,743.97
Pidherney’s Inc. $3,641,979.50
Thompson Infrastructure Ltd. $3,661,819.22
Pipe Quest Projects Ltd. $3,754,937.34
GS Construction Underground $6,105,872.85
“On October 10, 2019, WSP provided a pre-tender Engineer’s estimate of $1,666,320 (GST incl.) which was considered fair and conservative given the current market and recent tenders received on similar projects in central Alberta,” stated Powell.
“The low bid of $1,711,171 (GST incl.) provided by UG Excavating Ltd. is approximately 2.7% higher than the Engineer’s estimate.
“Considering that ten bids were received, it is felt that this tender is a true representation of the current market value of the proposed work and that contractors are suitably factoring in appropriate risk and reasonable expectation of profit. In looking at the bid prices, with a median of $2,465,729 and a mean of $2,994,017, it would appear that the submitted low bid of $1,711,171 provides value.”
The project had been tendered in the past and councilors weren’t happy with the results.
“The project was tendered July 2019 for a construction completion date of late October 2019,” stated the agenda package memo.
“Due to the timing of the listing and the poor weather (rain days), only one bid was received (Parkway Enterprises Ltd). The bid was evaluated for value and considering that the construction and engineering (i.e. total project costs) far exceeded the values presented at the Open House and subsequent signing and acceptance of the petition, it was thought that the best recourse was to re-tender.
“Following the rejection of the first tender and bid, the project was re-tendered on the Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) and local newspaper, October 30, 2019. The tender closed on November 27, 2019 at 2:00 pm.” Powell recommended awarding the contract to the low bidder.
Councilor Ken Adair felt it was time to move ahead with the project. “Looking at the big picture, I think this is what we have to do for our communities,” said Adair.
Councilors awarded the contract for the Alder Flats Wastewater Collection System Expansion to the low bid of $1,711,170.96 from UG Excavating Ltd. and approved project costs up to $1,857,430 which is inclusive of contract, contingencies, bonuses and engineering costs; and that funding for the project include a combination of grants totaling $1,244,801, Local Taxes totaling $459,629 and a $153,000 transfer from the Alder Flats Wastewater System reserve.