Central Frontenac Council –
Mar 24/09
By
Jeff Green
Deposit debacle costs CF Township
$62,000
Central Frontenac Council accepted a
bid of $331,200 for gravel crushing, even though they had received
another bid, for $62,000 less.
The lowest bid was that of Elliott
Agregates of Kingston, at $269,000. The second lowest bid was that of
Clouthier Construction of Renfrew County at $331,200. However,
Elliot’s bid was not considered, because it was not accompanied by
a certified cheque or bid bond for 10% of its value, as was “clearly
stated in the tender documents” according to a report to Council
from John Simcock, public works manager, and John Duchene, chief
administrative officer.
Before awarding the tender, council
agreed to entertain a submission from ratepayer Bob Pollard of Brewer
Road near Sharbot Lake. “When I look at the township roads plan,”
Pollard said, “I see that a lot of roads can be fixed up for about
$2,000 per kilometre; so $62,000 represents 31 kilometres of roads
that won't get improvements. I understand the requirement for the
bond, but in all fairness the township has sufficient funds owing to
the company to cover the bond. If that is the only issue, I think as
members of council it is incumbent upon you to take the lowest bid”.
Mayor Gutowski said “I’m sure we
all feel this is a lot of money but there was an issue with one
tender, and staff sought a legal opinion. It would be a serious thing
to go against a staff report and a legal opinion”.
Deputy Mayor Gary Smith said he would
like to hear from the public works manager about the companies.
“I signed the report,” said
Simcock, “but I don't agree with the decision”. He went on to say
that Elliott Construction did a lot of free digging for the township
last summer, when the township was facing a fine by the Ministry of
Transportation. He also said that the township “did have a lot of
Elliott's money in house”.
Elliott's had the winter sand contact
for the township and at the time the tenders were due for the gravel
contract, the township owed Elliott’s some $40,000. This left
Elliott's short of the $26,000 required as a bid bond.
“He [Elliott] did contact me to ask
if the bid bond could be taken off the money owing, and I said 'you
can try it'. He said ‘you already have my money’. My overall
impression was to go with Elliott. But the township talked to the
solicitor regarding the bid bond issue”, said John Simcock.
Township CAO John Duchene was not happy
about the $62,000 in extra costs, but said, “Our solicitor said you
cannot mix contracts; you have to have all those contractors on a
level playing field. The other contractors are certainly watching
this as well”.
“We are open to charges much greater
than $62,000 if we fail to follow our own rules,” said Deputy Mayor
Gary Smith.
Council voted unanimously to grant the
tender to Clouthier Construction for $331,200.
Council denies request for support from
Sharbot Lake Country Inn - The township received a letter from Dave
Saban of the Sharbot Lake Country Inn. In the letter Saban said his
business is regularly used by the public. “As I have explained in
the past our facility is being used by the community and our
travelling tourists as a PUBLIC facility. ... In the normal course of
maintenance we maintain this facility: parking lot grading, snow
removal, etc, washroom cleaning. As the result our septic system must
now be upgraded”.
Saban attached a quote for the cost of
the upgrade, which is over $31,000 and asked that the township pay
half of the cost “to keep these facilities available to the general
public”.
“If I ran a gas station on Highway 7,
I would jump on this and ask for support,” said Councilor Norm
Guntensperger.
“It's really a matter of where you
draw the line,” said Councilor Bob Harvey. “If we do this, who's
next?”
The request was denied.
Mayor Gutowski then said, “I feel the
township should go further and try to find a solution to this
problem. I don't think we should leave the matter at nothing. I don’t
think it's a discussion we should let die.”
Dashke denied again, OMB hearing next
week – Council received a package of information from the Ontario
Municipal Board (OMB) that had been presented to them by David
Dashke. Dashke is appealing a township decision to approve a portable
cement mixing facility on Hwy. 7, within a kilometre of his home,
which he is planning to turn into a bed and breakfast complete with
nature trails and other features.
The OMB wanted Council to inform them
if they were going to rescind their approval in light of the new
information.
Several councilors said they read the
material and found there was nothing new in it, and council
re-affirmed their decision to grant the zoning. The OMB hearing will
likely go ahead.
Trailer blues – A request from CAO
Duchene to be given leave to present an interim solution to the
township’s space problem in light of the growing inadequacy of the
temporary trailers that have housed the public works department for
many months was granted.
Council then debated whether they
should be looking at long-term needs, and considered setting up a
visioning session. Duchene said that “staff could present a
non-compromising interim solution, and Council could meet to discuss
the long term.”
Councilor Guntensperger wondered what
the visioning was all about.
Deputy Mayor Smith explained, using an
analogy: “There's a big box and a little box. It's useful to have
the big box first so you can see how the little box fits into it”.
Budget – Budget deliberations are set
to begin on Tuesday, March 30, 4 pm at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake.
