On Aug. 12 councillors here endorsed the single source quote for a GPS technology and operating system.
The contract was awarded to Charlotte Products Limited of Peterborough.
The technology will use Global Positioning System (GPS) for winter road control and fleet management through data capture of the current and past township vehicle location and for vehicles equipped with plow and sanding equipment, the status of the equipment and rate of sand/salt discharge.
The information is then used to determine compliance with roads maintenance requirements as set out by the province.
The report by Chief Financial Officer Wes Snarr stated that reports from other municipalities indicate the equipment operates well and is cost competitive. In addition, the company provides 24-hour support for its product. The cost to purchase the specialized GPS units for its 51 township vehicles is $41,000 – compared to the unexpected capital costs of GPS and radio units at $76,000.
Operating costs of $32 per month for each vehicle puts the annual costs at roughly $20,000 including the non-refundable portion of the HST.
Councillor Kelly Linton asked why this needed to be a “single source’”tender.
Managing director of corporate services Wes Snarr said it was common for municipalities to have this type of equipment and it can potentially save significant money for the municipality.
He said the municipality was following what had been done successfully in other municipalities. Snarr said in this particular case, drafting a tender document and evaluating the information would be a very time consuming process.
Council endorsed the quote.
