The expansion of the new treated water reservoir is underway for the City of Weyburn. Funding has been approved through the federal and provincial governments.
City council discussed contracting out the design, bid document review, tender pre-qualification, request for proposal preparation and general project management of the water reservoir during their Monday evening meeting.
The total estimated value of this project (including funds expended to date) is just over $16 Million. If not the largest, it is one of the largest projects ever undertaken by the City of Weyburn.
According to Sean Abram, director of engineering for the City of Weyburn, one of the main reasons to contract out the works is because “city staff is extremely busy with other projects, initiatives and day-to-day operations and would not have the time to properly manage this project; this is a large complex undertaking.”
“The design consultant overran their design budget — using all the construction inspection budget in the process. Since the city would be paying extra for the consulting during construction, going to another firm would provide good independent oversight to ensure the project is completed correctly,” said Abram.
The estimated construction schedule for this project is between 18 and 24 months; with construction on the main contract beginning in early spring 2017 and completion required by March 2019. It is anticipated that the render period will be in the months of March and April.
“Time is of the essence on these items,” said Abram. “Awarding these proposals directly to Colliers Project Leaders may not comply with the city’s purchasing policy; but is considered the best option for moving forward with this project.”
“Structuring the project so it is completed in accordance with the construction documents, on schedule and on budget will ensure that the city has a quality asset that will serve the needs of the city for the long-term. Any attempt to cut corners will have a lasting negative impact. Once the reservoir is completed the city will have increased fire fighting capacity, increased security of treated water volume in case of emergencies and an increased ability to do maintenance on other parts of the system that are in need.”
The selection of a consultant to perform construction management/inspection services should also be complete just before the award for construction is made.
The process to select a project management firm should be complete such that they are in place as soon as possible. A rough approximation of the project management effort required for a project of this nature is between 10 and 15 hours per week; this is a substantial amount of time.
