ERIN - North America Construction Ltd. has officially been selected as the contractor for Erin’s wastewater treatment plant.
At Thursday’s in-person meeting, Erin council unanimously approved and awarded the tender contract to North American Construction Ltd. for the construction of the wastewater treatment plant for $114 million. It is a fixed-price contract.
In a staff report, the tender closed for the treatment plant on March 18 with the town receiving two bids: North America Construction Ltd. for $114 million, and Bennett Mechanical Installations Ltd. for $118 million.
The other three prequalified contractors did not submit bids. Graham Construction and Engineering LP was experiencing staffing shortages and noted they were working on several high priority bids; Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd. did not submit a bid because of the contract clauses.
Meanwhile, ASCO Construction Ltd. did not submit a formal notice to the town, indicating they were not bidding.
“This was a highly technical and stringent tender and we are satisfied with the quality of bids received. We have the best qualified and experienced company. That they happen to be a local company, is an added bonus,” said Nick Colucci, town’s director of infrastructure services.
North American Construction Ltd. is based in Morriston.
In 2019 the project was initially pegged at $62,988,260 according to a report.
Consultant WSP, in their analysis last year, estimated the plant cost to be around $95,775,849.
However, due to the global supply chain issue and rising construction costs, the final price to build the wastewater plant came out to be a 20 per cent increase from WSP’s estimate.
“As you all know due to COVID-19, prices have increased across the board. We’re seeing this in all municipalities that there’s an increase in what the bids were versus what the estimates were pre-COVID. We don’t think this increase is out of line with other municipalities in Ontario,” explained WSP’s Michelle Albert during the meeting.
Mayor Allan Alls noted that Erin council did not anticipate an increase to the project costs, “when we started the project, it was well before my time, we didn't envision a pandemic and didn't envision a war in Ukraine. All of these things have impacted the whole world.”
While this is the largest ever project tendered by the Town of Erin, there are no cost implications for residents as the construction of the wastewater treatment plant is being paid for by the development community.
In August, Erin finalized agreements with developers eager to build new subdivisions connected to the town’s planned wastewater treatment plant that will see the companies pay $94 million in charges up front toward the project.
Coun. John Brennan, however, still wondered if the tender contract falls through the cracks, will taxpayers be affected by it.
“The agreement is worded in a way that provides for full indemnity by the developer group in favour of the municipality,” explained Quinto Annibale, the municipality’s lawyer.
“What that means is that in the event of a lawsuit, developers are required to fully pay for it, so taxpayers won’t be affected by it. And secondly, the costs which are contained in the agreement, the developers are required to pay the actual costs and not the estimated costs.”
The town is anticipating a 24-month construction window for the plant to be completed. Construction date is yet to be determined, as well as the timing, execution and payment terms of any municipal wastewater lines for existing property owners within the urban boundary.
“This wastewater plant project has been in the making for a very long time and I am delighted to see it move forward,” said Alls.
“This is the single largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by the town. While growth is inevitable as mandated by the province, this is a key infrastructure project that will help us grow in a sustainable and responsible manner.”
