The Town of Minto has awarded a contract for upgrades to the John Street sewage lift station in Harriston to Xterra Construction Ltd.
The Kitchener-based company submitted the lowest of three bids for the project, at $255,539, not including HST.
Wastewater foreman Mark Robertson noted at the Nov. 7 council meeting the tender is substantially more than the $140,000 estimated during 2017 budget discussions.
“During the design process the scope of the work increased to address certain issues mainly around operational control and enhancements to incorporate a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data System) system into the upgrades,” said Robertson.
He pointed out the SCADA system will allow on-call staff to access information on the lift station remotely from home and help operators determine whether the site needs to be attended or whether adjustments can be made remotely or at a later time.
“It helps operators deal with after-hours issues and reduces call-ins,” he explained.
“It should be noted that the station services the forcemain for that (Harriston) industrial park area, which services the park’s users, which includes Farm Fresh which is one of the town’s biggest users,” added Robertson.
While noting it may be possible to negotiate some savings with the successful bidder, Robertson pointed out all three bidders submitted similar prices “so we believe we achieved fair pricing through this process.”
Council directed that the contract be awarded to Xterra and the additional cost be funded in the 2018 wastewater capital budget.
