Fort Frances town council has changed its mind on a tender for the second phase of road improvements to Scott Street.
Thunder Bay-based Makkinga Construction will take on the job between Mosher and Armit Avenues with the work expected to start next spring.
Council initially awarded it to Bay City Contractors based on having the lowest of the two bids received.
However, when Bay City informed the town that it would not be able to complete work this year on another section of Scott and on Third Street West, some councillors expressed concern about awarding the company another contract.
Councillor John McTaggart is disappointed with the contractor’s progress this year.
“When they bid the job, they knew the limits. They’re not going to complete it,” says McTaggart.
“We haven’t had a super rainy season that there would be that many rain days lost.”
Only two companies bid for the Scott Street project.
Operations and Facilities Manager Travis Rob says other contractors pick up bid packages and attend tender meetings, but few are willing to actually seek work outside of their home community.
Rob says changing a decision on a contract does run the risk of narrowing the town’s choice in the future.
“There definitely is a risk of upsetting the two bidding contractors, and then having, all of a sudden, one bidding contractor or no bidding contractor. So that is definitely an aspect to consider,” says Rob.
Mayor Andrew Hallilkas says that while the jobs are taking longer than expected, he still supports staying with the original decision.
“If we get a new contractor, I don’t think there’s any guarantee that we’re gonna get the job done any faster,” says Hallilkas.
“And there could be complications because we’re switching contractors. So, although I don’t like it that this is so slow, I’m still in favor of staying with the original contractor because I think by switching, it could create problems.”
It will cost the town $15,000 more by awarding Makkinga the project.
If Bay City does not meet the projected deadlines for completion on the other projects, it is subject to penalties.
