Unexpected challenges with upgrading the water supply transmission line from Moose Jaw to Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant (BPWTP) mean additional funding is required to complete the project.
Contractors completed phase 1 in 2019, while phase 2 was awarded to Westridge Construction last May. The work included upgrading pumps and electrical systems, improving the fluoride system, upgrading yard piping including tie-ins to the 1955 and 1989 clear wells, and adding yard piping at tie-ins at the high service pumphouse and northwest reservoirs in Moose Jaw.
The project is expected to cost $26.6 million.
During a city council meeting last May, council approved a motion to give Stantec Consulting $275,866.37 plus taxes for engineering services and to manage the project. This money was tied into Westridge’s construction schedule.
However, unforeseen difficulties arose since then — additional co-ordination, schedule delays, extra work, and material challenges. According to a council report, these issues were out of anyone’s control. This forced Stantec to ask the city for additional money.
During the Feb. 16 regular council meeting, council voted unanimously to approve a change order that will provide Stantec with $162,236.48 for extra engineering services.
A complicated project
“This has had a lot of moving parts. What we are seeing is a situation that is typical with putting new infrastructure into old buildings and retrofitting things,” Bevan Harlton, director of engineering services, told council.
The project at BPWTP is installing new equipment into aging infrastructure, some that date to 1955, he continued. This project has been ongoing since 2010, and since it is a big initiative, he supported the additional money that Stantec was requesting.
The engineering services department budgeted $4.1 million for the project this year, so that is still within that budget, Harlton remarked. However, the money Stantec needed now was more than the initial oversight contract.
The scheduled delays concerned Coun. Doug Blanc, because while the project was still within budget, he was worried about the oversight contract requiring more money later. He noted that when a project needs another 10 per cent in funding, that raises red flags.
“This ($162,236.48) is a large number,” he added.
Project nearly finished
A letter with the council report indicated that 94 per cent of the project management budget is consumed, while 67 per cent of construction is completed; the project is to conclude by July.
The change order was triggered because most of the management budget is consumed, Harlton said. The initial change order to pay Stantec $275,866.37 last May helped get the project going. This additional funding will take the project to completion.
Lines of communication
Based on that letter, there seems to be miscommunication between Stantec and the municipality about this project, especially with tasks not being achieved, said Coun. Crystal Froese. She wondered who really had oversight of this initiative.
Stantec and its staff have oversight of the construction, while its project manager and the city’s project manager communicate daily, said Harlton. There are also biweekly meetings almost three hours long, while he receives regular emails about the project.
“Communication channels have been open. This (letter) can be read as finger-pointing, but between the owner and consultant and contractor, I have not been seeing a lot of finger-pointing. I’m seeing a lot of solutions … ,” he continued. “This is not a project I see going off the rails.”
Froese acknowledged that the project has many moving parts.
“… I appreciate the very transparent report. It has great detail,” she added. “But as a councillor, it is my responsibility to scrutinize and ask those questions because I know people will be wondering about that.”
A level of transparency
How the letter was written indicates that Westridge encountered problems outside of its control and identified new work in the process, Coun. Heather Eby said. This is a huge project, but she trusted Harlton’s judgment with it.
“I’ll be interested to see how we come in on budget with these guys,” said Coun. Dawn Luhning. “I’m wondering if there’s more in the letter than what’s going on.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 8.
