City administration recently awarded two contracts for trades work to Regina companies, but city council thought that was a poor decision and asked to see all the submissions for the contract work.
During an executive committee meeting last November, council authorized city administration to issue requests for proposal (RFPs) for 2020 for electrical, plumbing/HVAC, and carpentry, with an option for a one-year renewal from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021.
RFPs were issued in late December and closed in mid-January. The results showed eight submissions were received from electrical contractors; seven for plumbing/HVAC; seven for carpentry; and three for millwright. Of the four successful proponents, two were from Moose Jaw and two were from Regina.
City administration believes it can save $140,400 by entering into agreements with contractors for trades services in electrical, plumbing/HVAC and millwright, according to a city council report. Work for carpentry would be done in-house at a slightly higher dollar rate per hour.
During the recent executive committee meeting, council voted 4-2 to table the trade services update to a future meeting so it could review copies of the submissions received. Mayor Fraser Tolmie and Coun. Dawn Luhning were opposed, while Coun. Chris Warren left the room due to a family connection in the trades.
“I was very surprised when I saw that two Moose Jaw and two Regina vendors were received as the low tenders. That certainly isn’t going to make us look very good in the eyes of citizens,” said Coun. Scott McMann.
There were several references in the report to travel time and the response time of contractors, he continued. He wondered if administration understood everything about the Regina bids and if city hall had changed any of its processes around contractors coming here from out of town.
There were certain requirements in the RFPs that had to be met, so the companies that had the lowest bids met all the requirements and provided the best rates, explained city manager Jim Puffalt. Therefore, two of the winning bidders are from Moose Jaw and two are from Regina.
“That is unfortunately what happens sometimes,” he added.
What would be great is if city council could sit down and look at the responses received, said Coun. Brian Swanson. He remembered a time when council was able to see the bids entered for such things as the purchase of a tractor. However, council and administration moved away from that process.
“I speak to contractors and they wonder why we don’t have an open bidding process … ,” he continued. He also thought council would be criticized for awarding something as basic as an operating service agreement to a business from Regina. While he has usually taken the heat for awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, he wanted to see more details for this issue.
“I’d like to know more before I stick my neck out to get it chopped off (why) we’re awarding something like this out of town. I want to be able to defend that,” Swanson added, before putting forward the tabling motion.
The next executive committee meeting is March 9.
