The Town of Stettler awarded its water reservoir painting tender to a Calgary company, and it turns out the town will save some money on the project after all.
The decision to award the tender was made at the July 19 regular meeting of council.
Director of Operations Melissa Robbins presented councillors with the results of a request for proposal (RFP) for painting of the large concrete water reservoir located adjacent to the fire department headquarters on 47th Ave.
It appeared issuing a new RFP after some challenges with a previous contractor paid off for the town.
Town council previously awarded painting of the water reservoir to a company called AlumaSafway, which bid just over $41,000 for the job. As they were not able to do the work in the fall of 2021, the job was bumped to 2022.
However, Robbins reported at a previous meeting AlumaSafway approached the town with concerns about inflation, which Robbins stated wasn’t unusual in the current economy but the company and the town were unable to come to an agreement on how much more Stettler should pay for the job.
As out turned out AlumaSafway told the town it would need between $98,000 to $105,000 to do the work, and Robbins noted she wasn’t able to negotiate a better deal with the company.
Town council eventually withdrew the offer to AlumaSafway and instructed Robbins to re-list the job.
Two bids were received and the low one was actually lower than what AlumaSafway originally asked for.
Robbin’s report noted a Calgary company called AG Creations bid $37,000 to paint the water reservoir, while another company, United Supreme Group Inc., bid $447,442, which Robbins noted during her presentation illustrated “extreme differences” between the two bids.
It seemed, stated Robbins, the much higher bid from United Supreme Group Inc. included repairs to the concrete structure.
She stated she did reference checks on AG Creations, which all came back great. It turns out the company in question has experience working on shopping mall parkades.
Robbins stated she was confident in offering the job to AG Creations.
The director of operations told councillors she would also like about $13,000 set aside as a contingency and that the company wanted to start the project as soon as possible.
Coun. Scott Pfeiffer asked how long a paint job on the water reservoir lasts. Robbins answered it should last between seven and eight years.
When asked what colour the water reservoir will be painted, Robbins responded that it would match the nearby fire department headquarters, which is painted two-tone grey.
Town of Stettler council unanimously passed a resolution to award the water reservoir painting to AG Creations Inc. in the amount of $37,000 plus a contingency amount of $13,000 to cover any unexpected repairs required, funded through the 2022 capital budget.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism initiative reporter
ECA Review
