The Municipal District of Opportunity council rejected administration’s contract recommendations for two FireSmart projects, opting instead to award the tenders to companies with stronger local ties.
During the Aug. 24 meeting at the Calling Lake Community Complex, administration presented bid evaluations for vegetation management in Wabasca and Red Earth Creek.
For both projects, administration recommended awarding the contracts to Cortex Management Inc., an Edmonton-based company. Cortex scored the highest in the municipality’s evaluation matrix, which grades bids based on cost, timeframe, previous experience and local content.
However, councillors quickly voiced frustration over how the local content section was graded. Cortex received 15 out of 20 points in that category simply for being based in Alberta.
“I don’t like the way the scoring was done,” said Councillor Darlene Jackson. “They’re not even from Wabasca.”
Jackson noted that the municipality typically defines local content as being from the immediate region, rather than anywhere in the province.
“We’ve never used Alberta-based as a local content. We’ve always used local content as local content,” Jackson said.
Councillor Brendan Powell said he shared the same concern, pointing out that local contractors were passed over in the initial scoring despite having crews in the area.
Jackson reminded council that the FireSmart projects are fully funded by provincial grants, which can cover up to $10,000 per hectare. Because the funding is external, she said the municipality should prioritize companies that bring economic benefits directly to the community.
For the Wabasca project, which involves 25.6 hectares of vegetation management, Councillor Marcel C. Auger made a motion to award the contract to BOSS Construction instead of Cortex. Cortex had bid $150,937.60 for the work, while BOSS bid $192,000.
“I’ll make a motion for BOSS, because BOSS employs a lot of local people,” Auger said.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Council took a similar approach for the Red Earth Creek FireSmart tender, which covers 10.7 hectares. Administration had again recommended Cortex, whose bid came in at $60,990.
Instead, Councillor Leo Alook made a motion to award the contract to Waymor Construction, which bid $94,160.
While Waymor Construction is based near Peace River, councillors noted the company frequently works on municipal roads and relies on local workers for brushing projects in the region. Alook’s motion was also carried unanimously.
Wrapping up the FireSmart discussions, council approved a motion to submit new grant applications for future vegetation management and home assessments.
The municipality plans to apply for funding to complete 16.4 hectares of vegetation management in Calling Lake, 24.1 hectares in Red Earth Creek, 15.2 hectares in Wabasca and up to 25 hectares in Sandy Lake.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter