(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Within budget

City administration reports street inlaid line work not tendered

Nov 15, 2021 | 5:05 PM

North Battleford city administration gave an update to council on some work that went ahead inadvertently that should have been tendered out instead.

City manager Randy Patrick presented the information to council at its recent meeting from a report submitted by city director of operations Stewart Schafer.

“It’s our policy to go out and get bids, on any significant project,” Patrick said. “This project is in the under $70,000 range. That wasn’t done on this project. So I wanted to make sure that we self-informed the council what happened. That we did not follow policy. It was an error on our part. It should have come to council.”

He said although the city received the work at a reasonable value, administration realizes the project should have been tendered out regardless. It was essentially done to save time.

The project involved using inlaid thermoplastic for making street lines. The city has been using this product as it resists wear better than paint, and the lines stay in the lanes longer. The inlay process usually lasts about 10 years.

Skilled Trade and Technology Week

Importance of trades and technology among young Canadians

11h ago

New cabinet

Cockrill and Harrison take on new responsibilities as Premier appoints cabinet

16h ago

Warm weather continues

Warmer-than-normal weather continues through the weekend

17h ago

Administration has been allocating funds in the city’s budget over the past number of years for this work on busier streets.

In the beginning of October, administration realized that tendering wasn’t done for this work planned for the 2021 budget. Lafrentz Road Marking, the company that completed this type of work in the past, were coming to the city to perform minor warranty maintenance work, and administration asked if they could do the line work. The work was quoted slightly less than the prices quoted in 2020.

The project was completed by the firm on the following roads in the city: the 1200 and 1300 block of 100th Street; 11th Avenue from 100th Street to Territorial Drive/Railway Avenue South (the bottom of the Don Ross Hill intersection); Railway Avenue from 11th Avenue to 100th Street; Battleford Road; the water main repair dig site on the 1100 block of 101st Street; and the Carlton Trail/Pioneer Avenue/Territorial Drive intersection.

In his submitted report, Schafer explained the situation.

“Administration realizes this work should have been tendered under the city’s purchasing policy,” the report stated. “However, due to the time of the year, sending out the request for proposals would have resulted in the contract being awarded in later November or early December, and the work [would not have been] done until 2022. It should be noted that the completed work was within the 2021 budget.”

–

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow