City fast-tracking for RONA

The City of Yorkton is fast-tracking work to push water services north along Highway 9.

"The recent announcement of a RONA store at the corner of Hwy 9 and Grain Millers Drive means that Engineering Services needs to determine how potable water can be extended to this area of the municipality," identified a report circulated to the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday.

Gord Shaw, Director of Planning and Engineering with the City said the work will service a new development area within the city, something detailed in the report.

"Development interest in land west of Hwy 9 has increased in 2013. City Council previously approved a concept plan for 110 acres of land in this area. Now, an additional 36 acres are likely to be developed that include a RONA store. This means that there is a definite need to extend potable water services to this location ahead of this development. The city did extend the 10 inch water main up 4th Avenue in recent work. This size of main, however, is insufficient for the amount of water that is going to be required for fire flows in this area.

"Engineering Services reviewed the desirability to have a water trunk main on the east side of the city. Part of that trunk is installed within York Colony Phase I and II. As future development occurs along the east side, a 16 to 20 inch trunk main will be installed. For now, the trunk needs to be installed from York Colony to Grain Millers Drive. In the future, the 10 inch water main will be tied to the trunk main to create a looped system on this side of the highway."

Shaw also noted the City is under some definite time constraints.

"Time is of the essence with respect to installing this trunk main. The RONA representative identified that work on the site is contemplated to begin in the first quarter of 2014 for the store to be opened late next year. This means that the design and tendering of this work needs to be done relatively quickly. Any surveying will have to be done this fall before too much snow accumulates," he said.

The report expanded upon the tight time line.

"Engineering Services desires to continue with Associated Engineering to complete the design and tender of this trunk main. This company has provided the water main design within York Colony. This work is an extension of the trunk water main from that subdivision to the west side of the highway. Requesting an RFP for engineering services for this phase of the trunk main could impact the city's ability to have it installed in time to meet servicing requirements on the west side of Highway #9."

Associated Engineering provided the city with a proposal to do the design and tendering of the project with a cost of $233,000.00. The cost will be $181,000.00 to provide resident engineering services for this project. Engineering Services desires to proceed with the design and tendering with Associated Engineering given the constrained time period to provide water services to the west side of Hwy #9, said Shaw.

Councillor James Wilson questioned how much time a tender process would take?

Shaw said it would add five to six weeks.

Coun. Chris Wyatt said while he understood the urgency of the process, he added with a price tag near a quarter of a million dollars, tendering would be the best way to go.

"We don't want that comfort level where we only go with one company," he said.

In addition, "Engineering Services desires to put out an RFP for the design of the water trunk main west on Grain Millers Drive to connect to the existing main on Sully Road," said Shaw.

This will ensure the city is proactive in dealing with future development of the city's industrial lands in this area of the community. Integrated Engineering in its 2013 study North Industrial Servicing Plan identified the need to have a 500 mm pipeline extended west on Grain Millers Drive to the canola crushing plants to service proposed development within the city's heavy industrial lands. This study further identified a need to have an additional water distribution facility in this area of the community in the next eleven years depending upon growth, started the report.

Both projects were given unanimous support by Council.