Contract awarded for Mississippi Mills wastewater treatment plant
Posted Jun 10, 2010 By Tara Gesner
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EMC News - Motion carried!
The Town of Mississippi Mills
Prepared by The Thompson Rosemount Group Inc., a rendering of the new wastewater treatment plant for Mississippi Mills is pictured above. The plant, expected to roll out in 2012, replaces the lagoon system on which the town presently relies. North America Construction (1993) Ltd. was awarded the construction contract Monday night (June 7). The cost: $24,720,000 (excluding taxes).
Mississippi Mills town council - during the June 7 council meeting - awarded the contract for the construction of the wastewater treatment plant (Tender 10-01).
Seven companies participated in the bidding process, with North America Construction (1993) Ltd. eventually being awarded the contract. The cost: $24,720,000 (excluding taxes).
The award was the result of a formal tendering process that was issued earlier this year.
The tender opening was held May 27 in Council Chambers at the Municipal Building, and chief administrative officer (CAO) Diane Smithson revealed the bids promptly at 3:15 p.m. The prices were read out for all bidders in attendance to hear. All proposals conformed to the complete submission requirements: tender amount, tender signed and sealed, tender deposit ($250,000), agreement to bond and addenda acknowledged and attached. The three lowest bids were retained. They were: Thomas Fuller Construction Co. Ltd. ($22,397,000 - excluding taxes), North America Construction (1993) Ltd. ($24,720,000 - excluding taxes), and M. Sullivan & Sons Ltd. ($25,140,000 - excluding taxes).
WITHDRAWAL OF BID
Smithson told council Monday night Thomas Fuller Construction Co. Ltd. - in a letter dated May 28 - withdrew its bid on the project.
Thus, it was recommended the contract be awarded to North America Construction (1993) Ltd. for the building of the wastewater treatment plant, including the septage component.
Prior to voting on the recommendation, the CAO pointed out the following (according to The Thompson Rosemount Group Ltd.):
- if council decided not to pursue the septage component of the project there are still aspects of the construction design that incorporate septage (integral parts of the project) that would need to remain,
- if council decided to wait for the province to decide to ban septage spreading there is a risk of losing the two-thirds funding from province for construction, resulting - possibly - in a 100 per cent cost to taxpayers. On top, there is the chance of having to go through another environmental assessment, which would add expenses, and,
- as a result of delaying construction, since the Building Canada Fund allows the municipality to spend the money up to 2016, there will be additional costs.
"They are obviously not going to hold today's prices until 2016," she said.
The cost associated with the septage treatment component of the plant is $1,486.807.
Taking off the two-thirds funding amount leaves a balance of $495,602, which would result in a one-time capital charge to rural taxpayers of $120 (down from the original estimate presented at the public septage meeting of $156).
"This is based on the North America Construction (1993) Ltd. tender amount," said Smithson. "However, depending on what happens with change orders and things like that when the construction is going on, the price may change."
"The most important thing is that the lowest tender that has been recommended to you for acceptance is on budget," said engineer Marco Vincelli, project engineer with The Thompson Rosemount Group Inc. "We are below budget, which is a good place to be. A lot of projects lately have been coming in over budget, which is a problem I am glad we don't have to deal with. I think you have a great project, a great project administrator, and potentially a great contractor to work with, leaving you with a project that will make the town proud."
"It's been a long time coming, a long process, and I am extremely pleased to see the figures," said Mayor Al Lunney.
"I think this is the best way for us to go," said councillor Brenda Hurrle (Pakenham Ward). "I am very pleased that it came in under budget."
On top of the construction costs are the engineering fees and project management fees, and there is a $500,000 contingency built into the contract. Based on the original estimate of $28 million, the project is approximately $1 million under budget.
Councillor Alex Gillis (Almonte Ward) noted the bids of North America Construction (1993) Ltd.) and M. Sullivan & Sons Ltd. were "within a hair's breath of each other," questioning whether council had to go with the lowest bidder.
"We went through a pre-qualification for all general contractors," stated Vincelli. "All contractors we pre-qualified are capable of doing this work."
"You cannot override the law of low bid in case of pre-qualification," said Zbigniew Bukala of Ontario Clean Water Agency. "We did pre-qualification simply to avoid having contractors who are incompetent or less experienced. Sometimes they have a ludicrous low price to get the job, and the contract becomes the project from hell."
"Pre-qualification is recommended because you know you have the companies with the capacity, the history of similar contracts, and are capable financially."
Councillor Val Wilkinson (Ramsay Ward) asked if any bidders on the list had liens against them.
"There were two companies that pre-qualified that had a history of liens and litigations," said Vincelli. "What we did, we contacted their references, and the checks that we conducted on those two contractors provided a good reference with good reasons why they were in litigation."
"I am glad we are going ahead with this thing," said councillor Rick Minnille (Almonte Ward). "Slowing it down any would be costly."
"I am glad to see June 7, 2010," said councillor Denzil Ferguson (Pakenham Ward). "We have suffered through public meetings, and we have suffered through many, many council meetings to arrive at a right decision. I think we have taken many positive steps. We must move on. I am happy we are under budget. We have reached it being dedicated, we reached it being professional."
"I am happy to see us come in under budget," said councillor Jane Torrance (Almonte Ward). "Two years from now when it is operational we will all be pleased that we have spent the time now to bring it to this stage and went through the whole stage of pre-qualification. We are on the right track."
"I think it is great, but I hope there is money left over to give to the rural residents so they won't have to pay the $120, which they are objecting to," said councillor Marilyn Anderson (Ramsay Ward).
Based on a question from councillor Jim Lowry (Ramsay Ward) regarding bypassing the plant if there is an emergency, Vincelli stated, "We are converting one of the lagoons into a holding pond so if any flows do get bypassed from the plant, they will be pumped back to the plant after the wet weather flow has subsided."
The other three lagoons will be dewatered and the piping on site decommissioned.
"I am very pleased, and I think it's something that's really needed for the future of Mississippi Mills. It will support growth," said Gillis.
"I hope this doesn't cause any rift between the rural residents and the people from town," said Minnille.
Construction on the new treatment facility should commence next month, rolling out in 2012.
"The plant would be ready to be operational in June 2012," said Vincelli. "However, there will probably be work for four months after that... cleaning up the site."
SITE PLAN
Also during Monday's council meeting, a motion was carried approving the proposed site plan application for the lands described as Part of Lots 16 and 17, Concession 8, Ramsay Ward, Town of Mississippi Mills for a new sewage treatment plant.
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