Sewage treatment engineers chosen

Sewage engineers chosen

Cramahe Township has chosen the consulting engineers for its planned $6 million sewage treatment expansion.

Thompson Rosemount/Riggs Engineering/Hydromantis will oversee the work.
Max Christie of XIE Environmental assisted the township in the selection of the company. When XIE was hired, the township set a ceiling of $5,000 for his consulting. The consultant assured Council his bill would be "a lot less than that".

At a special meeting of Council on Augusts 31, Mr. Christie explained the process. Companies interested in providing the service were asked to provide letters of interest. Three were selected and asked to give detailed two-part proposals.
The first was a written proposal followed by an interview. The second part was a statement of costs.

Stantec had the best interview but scored the lowest in its proposal. The Thompson Rosemount Group had the best proposal and was second in the interview process. Thomson Rosemount also had the lowest bid of $608,204 for the engineering costs. Genivar Willis bid $727,065 and Stantec submitted a cost of $784,160. There were no local bidders for the work.

In making his recommendation Mr. Christie noted that Thompson Rosemount works primarily with systems similar in size to Colborne. Riggs has in-water engineering expertise required for the pipe which will extend into Lake Ontario, Hydromantis is highly regarded in the province for its wastewater process analysis.

The three companies were asked to analyze the total cost of the project. Based on the numbers provided in their bids the average estimated cost is $5,034,736. The worst-case cost is $5,800,834. Figures do not include the engineering costs.

Taking the halfway point between the two estimates, Mr. Christie stated the grants promised by upper levels of government will cover 2/3 of the cost.
The township requested grant money to cover a $6,175,260 project.

The approved company is ready to start work next week. Mr. Christie assured Council that the work will be aligned so that local firms can bid on it.

In closing, Mr. Christie commended the township for the work of its committee members, Councillor Pat Westrope, Mayor Marc Coombs, Public Works Director Barry Thrasher and CAO Christie Alexander.