North Battleford city council got the bad news Monday that an installation project had gone way over what had been set aside in their budget.
The project was for installation of a septage receiving station, with the station to be installed just upstream of the Wastewater Treatment Plant headworks to monitor, control and invoice septage haulers.
The installation had come with a project estimate of $40,000 included in the 2020 capital budget.
But according to a memo from Mark Keller, water and wastewater treatment plants superintendent, dated Feb. 15, that estimate was provided before a detailed scope of work was defined. In the end the “post capital budget” project estimate for the installation came in at $150,000 from MPE Engineering —$110,000 over what was budgeted.
What’s more, combined with the septage receiving station itself, which was acquired for $100,816.53, as well as engineering costs for $25,000, the overall costs are now up to $275,000.
“The project is starting to get larger and larger and larger,” said a frustrated Mayor David Gillan.
“It’s really for a learning process that I bring this up — it’s not to admonish anybody or point fingers ... every investment needs to be looked at as far as the return to the city as well.”
To address the budget shortfall for the project, administration recommended transferring $120,000 from the Utility Stabilization Reserve to the 2021 Capital Budget, and to go ahead and award the septage receiving station installation contract to Sanburn Construction Ltd., whose low bid came in for $152,625.
The resolution to that effect carried.
