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UPAR bid comes in under budget to relief of administration

Apr 18, 2017 | 12:00 PM

There was a concern the city wouldn’t be able to afford all the Underground Pipes and Asphalt (UPAR) work proposed after cuts in the provincial budget but, thanks to a low bid on the work from a Battleford company, it looks like everything can be completed as planned.  

Before the provincial budget and all its cuts along with the addition of PST on construction were announced, North Battleford budgeted $1.1 million for UPAR work this year. Administration was concerned aspects of the plan would have to be delayed to make sure the project didn’t go over budget.

At last night’s Planning Committee Meeting, the director of city planning and development, Jennifer Niesink, presented four bids for the work from different companies. The bids from the Saskatoon and Biggar companies were over budget but both Battlefords companies came in under budget.

Sanburn Construction out of Battleford was $144,000 under the projected budget for the work. A motion was carried to suggest council select Sanburn for the work at the next meeting. Niesink said the low bid was a great way to start the construction year.

“We are happy with where it came in,” Niesink said. “This is important to the planning of our future projects. We look forward to our roadway tenders as well because that is just part of the puzzle.”

Now the city has some breathing room when it comes to roadway construction tenders. Nieksink said the city would be forced to delay certain parts of the project if both UPAR and roadway work came in over what administration budgeted for.

According to Niesink, there is still no guarantee everything will come under budget, however, the low UPAR bid will go a long way towards getting all the work done the city planned.

City manager Jim Puffalt was also quite pleased they received a bid lower than the budgeted amount. As long as the roadway tenders comply, he said the only thing that would stop the construction of everything planned would be weather.

“A lot of it depends on construction season,” Puffalt said. “Sometimes we lose weeks to rain or early frost. It really comes down to the ending of the season.”

Administration hopes to have the roadway construction costs figured out over the next month to have a better plan of what’s to come.

This year’s UPAR construction is planned for 101st St. from 11th Ave. to 12th Ave., 97th St. from 13th Ave. to 15th Ave., 99th St. from 12th Ave. to 13th Ave., 17th Ave. from 104th St. to 106th St. Fire hydrant replacement is also scheduled.

 

Greg.higgins@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @realgreghiggins.