Learning on the job – or making a fool of yourself?

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON July 18, 2011 — There are things about municipal government and basic business that are just things you know. Like being an accountant – it is assumed you can count.

At a Council Committee meeting Marianne Meed Ward, the woman who represents the good people of Ward 2, wanted to know what Council was going to learn about the pier tender at a meeting scheduled for August 31st – that’s the date that appeared in the agenda she was reading from.

The Pier is in Ward 2 and Councillor Marianne Meed Ward wants her people to know what it is going to cost.  She said at a Council Committee meeting that she would attend the tender opening and “tweet” the numbers to her constituents.

The Pier is in Ward 2 and Councillor Marianne Meed Ward wants her people to know what it is going to cost. She said at a Council Committee meeting that she would attend the tender opening and “tweet” the numbers to her constituents.

 

Actually nothing was going to happen on that date – but things were certainly happening and the Ward 2 Councillor didn’t seem to have a clue. She wasn’t really clear on what a tender bid was nor did she have any idea what the public opening of tenders was all about. All she knew was that she wanted to be at the meeting so she could “tweet” whatever number was the lowest bid and that had a very senior member of the civic administration fuming..

“That kind of behaviour is just plain irresponsible” and “has the potential to create a perception that might not reflect what the best price for completing the construction of the pier at the foot of Brant Street is all about.”

 

Roman Martiuk, city manager, had already explained to Council how the tender process worked. The lowest price gets the job – but that lowest price cannot have a whole bunch of conditions attached to it that raise the price well above what the city has said it is prepared to pay.

Sometimes a contractor will put forward a low bid and then add all kinds of provisos – for example the bidder might stipulate that the trestle in place, which is already the subject of litigation, has to be removed. The removal would add to the city’s costs and thereby take the cost from this particular contractor higher than other bids that come in.

Tenders are opened publicly so that there is no favouritism shown for any particular bidder. Everyone knows what the number is. The engineering department, after opening the envelopes and reading out the amount shown at the bottom of the document, then takes all the documents away and does there due diligence.

Then they prepare a report for the city council committee responsible for the project and make a recommendation based on the numbers that were publicly read and their due diligence. That recommendations is discussed at the committee level and goes to a Council meeting for acceptance. Contractors who wish to comment at the committee level can supposedly do so.

There have been occasions in the past when the mathematics in a bid were incorrect; there have been tenders that were not properly signed. So the lowest number at first reading may not in fact be the lowest price when the due diligence is done. For a person in the room to hear all the numbers, note the lowest and then broadcast that number to her following is “absolutely irresponsible”.

During the Council meeting at which the Waterdown Road interchange bids were opened, Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven said he attended and sat at the back of the room and noted the numbers. He made no public comment.

The skeleton of the pier extends out into the lake waiting for someone to complete the work or come in and tear the whole thing down.  Costs will decide which the city decides to do.  Public seems divided on the issue.

The skeleton of the pier extends out into the lake waiting for someone to complete the work or come in and tear the whole thing down. Costs will decide which the city decides to do. Public seems divided on the issue.

 

The tenders will be issued on July 20th to the seven contractors who have been pre-qualified. They are expected to come back with their bids no later than August 10th, however, it is not uncommon for a contractor to ask for an extension or to ask some questions as they prepare their bids.

When one contractor asks a question – the answer to the question is given out to all the contractors who picked up a tender. Contractors are encouraged to be innovative and come back with a bid that is their best possible price. They may include in their bid new and unique ways of doing something. That doesn’t mean changing the design but it does allow for the contractor to use their creativity and knowledge of new techniques developed by the construction industry.

Burlington has pre-qualified seven contractors several of which have enviable reputations. The pre-qualified are:

ConCrete USL Limited

Toronto Zenith Contracting Limited

Belor Construction Ltd

Rankin Construction In.

Bot Construction

PCL Construction Canada Inc.

Graham Infrastructure

These seven companies have undergone a much more rigorous process to be qualified to bid on the pier completion. In a report to a council committee Toronto based Mettko said “a more comprehensive pre-qualification package was issued in June 2011 which included more than 25 pages of the city’s standard requirements and illustrations. Compared to the two (2) page pre-qualification package used in March 2005. Council had directed staff to provide a report that set out the differences between the 2005 tender pre-qualifications process and the one that will be issued later this month. Earlier Tom Eichenbaum said at a committee that the pre-qualification in 2005 have been “rather cursory”.

The tender that will be issued will have three provisional items on it which include a promenade area extension that is expected to come in at $100,000.

A small scale floating dock that is also to cost $100,000.

Ramp to the mini beach that has developed naturally on the west side of the pier. Expected to cost $60,000.

At a council committee Council Jack Dennison commented that “no one can spend money the municipal staff can”. His view was that the floating dock was maybe ok – Dennison is a boating buff.

These three provisional items will only be considered if the tender prices come in below the overall updated project budget which is now $9,094,000.

 

The cost of the pier once it is completed is going to amount to $15,070,000. The original cost was $9,272,033 of which $5,975,205 had been paid out to various contractors and suppliers. Which leave $3,296,828. left from the originally approved budget. In order to complete the pier the city has estimated it needs an additional $5,798,000. That money will come from the Capital Purposes Reserve Fund. Burlington has a lot of money tucked away in reserve funds

The money to build the pier, working from the original budgeted amount, came from:

Federal government/provincial governments: $4,356,230.

Regional government: $2,500,000.

Burlington Hydro: $100,000.

The city’s portion was just $2,315,803. It looked like a good deal at the time.

 

The city estimates it will cost $2,400,000 to demolish the pier.

The key dates for the immediate future are

Tender going out July 20th – this date is now cast in stone.

August 10th bids to come back from the contractors

August 17th possible extension date for bids from contractors

Things get pretty quiet around city hall during the month of August. While many senior staff people are on vacation – bet that they will be two rings away on their cell phones should problems arise.

The one plus that hasn’t cost us a dime so far is the instant beach that formed on the west side of the unfinished pier.  The city is now talking about installing a $60,000 ramp to provide access, which could be done for a lot less by just moving some boulders.

The one plus that hasn’t cost us a dime so far is the instant beach that formed on the west side of the unfinished pier. The city is now talking about installing a $60,000 ramp to provide access, which could be done for a lot less by just moving some boulders.

 

Some patience and the belief that the engineering team at city hall along with the consultants they have brought in to advise them each step of the way and we can expect to see the opening of the Pier just about the time Sound of Music 2013 is to take place.

However, let us not let the Sound of Music schedule determine when we open the pier. Let the contractors complete their work and just make sure that we do it right this time. And whatever number Councillor Meed Ward decides to tweet to you on either the 10th or the 17th of August – take it with a grain of salt and realize that while it might be the lowest number, the bid may not meet other criteria that would disallow it.

 

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