On July 10 Wellington North council selected Monteith Brown Planning Consultants of London to complete a recreation master plan for $39,950.
A steering committee was directed to award the contract after two proposals were received in April.
While the committee recommended Monteith Brown, councillor Steve McCabe, chair of the committee, recommended the other proponent, GSP Group, which submitted a bid that is $40 higher.
McCabe said he recognizes the situation is unusual.
“I know it might be a little unique when the chair of the committee has opposite view of the recommendations of the very same committee that I sit on,” he said.
He said GSP has a range of planners, including junior and senior staff members, that would allow the recreation plan to be attractive to all age ranges.
“If we want our youth to come back to our township, this is a key group that we can’t and shouldn’t ignore,” he said.
McCabe added GSP is already working with the economic development department to complete a Community Growth Plan.
“I think it just makes sense to have one group working on two plans,” he said.
Councillor Lisa Hern asked how the recreation department would address potential silos between departments by having two firms work on overlapping plans.
“One of the things we looked at is, yes, (GSP is) already doing work for the municipality,” said recreation manager Barry Lavers.
“Seeing as (GSP is) already being a part of that bidding process, we felt that pricing wide, maybe we should be getting a better price than what we got because some of the work had already been done.”
Councillor Sherry Burke asked if the town would be able to get a better price.
“Is there any consideration to go back and if the contract is awarded to them to see if the price can be negotiated?” she asked.
“I mean, we’ve already contracted them to do some work.”
Mayor Andy Lennox said that would be a “dangerous” situation.
“We had RFPs that have given us a dollar figure. I think we would be setting ourselves up with problems with the alternate company,” he said.
Both Lavers and treasurer Kim Henderson, who sit on the steering committee, said Monteith Brown’s experience was a key factor in their decision.
“It was tough, it was very tough,” said Henderson.
Ultimately, council voted 3-2 in favour of awarding the contract to Monteith Brown. Hern and McCabe were opposed.
