Contracts for line-painting in the city of Weyburn, and for sandblasting and epoxy coating at the water treatment plant, were awarded by city council at their Zoom meeting on Monday evening.
In relation to the painting of lines, Red Deer-based APLS was awarded all three parts of the contract for a total cost of $108,849.99, which was the lowest of six bids to the city. The other bids ranged from $116,317 up to $223,457.
Part 1 of the contract is for roadway centre lines, shoulder lines, crosswalks and intersection markings; this will involve 31 km of centre lines, 5.4 km of shoulders and 200 km in combined length for all the crosswalks in the city, and all line-painting is to be done twice a year.
Part 2 is to repaint curbs at intersections, and to mark out the “no parking” zones as needed; and part 3 is to complete runway and taxiway centerlines and markings at the Weyburn Airport. This will include 4.96 km for the main runway, and 1.5 km for the taxiway, with separate runway designations and holding position markings included.
As this was not the company used last year, engineer Jennifer Wilkinson was asked if there had been a reference check done on this company. She noted that references were a requirement of the request for proposal, and municipalities which have used this company said they have had no problems with them or their work.
Coun. John Corrigan noted that the paint being used on roadways often fade fast, and asked if there was a reason for this.
Wilkinson said it’s a combination of our environment and the paint used, noting that some paints will last longer but they cost a lot more, which would figure into the tender prices.
For the other contract, the job is to sandblast out the coating for three filtration tanks and inside one clarifier, and to apply a new epoxy coating to the cleaned surfaces according to potable water standards.
There were eight proposals submitted to the city with one disqualified bidder, and the contract was awarded to Park Derochie Coatings (Saskatchewan) Inc., at the price of $133,608.
This was not the lowest bid, so Wilkinson was asked what made administration choose this company as the successful bidder.
She said there are a number of conditions and stipulations for the companies which submitted proposals, including whether they had a full understanding of the full scope of the work involved, and their ability to complete the work in a timely manner, and some of the lower bidders had conditions that the city would not agree to.
“We feel this company fully understood the work that needs to be done, which was outlined in the RFP,” said Wilkinson.
Mayor Marcel Roy added a comment that part of the cost is the PST, which he feels the municipality shouldn’t have to pay, as the monies paid out come back to them in grants. He also pointed out that the former SUMA association has argued this point many times and continue to lobby against it.
“We never used to have to do this, and now we are having to do this,” he said, noting that SUMA will continue to argue against it, “to make it more affordable for cities to do their business.”
On this contract, the PST totals $7,222 out of the total cost.
In other council business, the Building Department reported the City issued three building permits in January, with a total construction value of $1,255,000.
One was for a three-unit commercial building on Grace Street worth $1.165 million, a second was for a new restaurant on Railway Avenue worth $80,000, and the third permit was for a residential basement development worth $10,000.
