The original Request for Proposal put out in September for the project included three planters, and soil, and specified the types of plants to be planted in them. Two of the planters were to be 12-by-8 feet and made of unilock. The third was to be constructed of wood.
Of the contractors contacted by the township, only one company, Baltimore-based Forest View Landscaping, bid on the work and elected not to bid on the wooden one.
It is unclear when the parameters of the contract changed.
This planter is one of two installed for $10,585.
At the October 6 meeting of Cramahe Council the report by the Development Officer did not include plants and no one on Council asked about the omission.
When the question of plants was brought up by Cramahe Now at the December 1 meeting of Council, Ms. Goddard-Sarria acknowledged that plants had been included in the original request. She added that it was so late in the season that the contractor could not plant any. She promised to check into getting a reduction in the price.
The answer to her inquiries came back on December 2. In her reply, Ms. Goddard-Sarria stated, "Their quote did not include plants. Although the original Request for Quotes did request that a quote for plants be included, landscaping companies consulted did not recommend planting later in the season. Due to Forest View Landscaping’s busy schedule, they were not able to complete the work on the construction of the beds until the last week in November. Therefore, no planting will be done until the Spring of 2010."
Under the rules of the federal CAF grant, any money not spent is forfeited. The landscaping was part of a $424 thousand grant being used to upgrade the industrial park just south of the 401.
The township purchasing bylaw does not require that purchases under $20,000 come before council.
No comments:
Post a Comment