GOT TO BE A JOKE!: Citizens Shocked at Price of Municipal Tenders

$100,000 for canopies sparks outrage and questions.

Last month, two canopies at the Verner arena were installed. This was a long overdue project to address the falling ice and snow creating a safety concern for those entering or leaving the building.

But after the project was completed some citizens voiced their shock on social media because of the cost of these canopies.

A post by West Nipissing resident Leo Beaudy has since been shared 39 times on Facebook. Beaudry points out that this project was awarded to an out-of-town company for nearly $100,000. In October, council approved the project being awarded to Capital Construction (based out of Sudbury) for $95,549.

Beaudry’s main concern was the omittance of any local bids. He questions if the municipality properly advertises it’s contracts to local contractors. He states “one needs to wonder if the $95,549 cost could have been lower and save taxpayers money…”

Given that this project was not very complex, and does not seem outside the scope of what many local contractors can do, many assume they simply did not know about the opportunity. As Beaudry points out “small medium sized contractors don’t have an employee, resources to continuously search electronic websites for potential local jobs.”

In the comments on social media one contractor stated “I would have built that for them for half the price…”

Lack of Competition in West Nipissing

This is not the first time that West Nipissing outsources its construction work to out-of-town companies. Or to this company in particular. In fact a review of recent large projects awarded seem to show a clear lack of competition in the area.

In 2023, Capital Construction not only received the Verner arena contract but was also awarded the $1.38M contract to build the Field Outdoor Rink. $450,000 over the municipal budget.

In 2021 when the city repaired the Verner municipal garage, Capital Construction was also chosen to undertake the work for $618,000. This was more than $200,000 over the estimated cost for the project ($400,000).

The year before that, Capital Construction was chosen to build the Cache Bay OPP building for $9.1M.

The company responsible for these projects seems to have met their obligation on these contracts. But the fact that almost every major construction project over the last few years has gone to the same company leads many to wonder if we are properly attracting enough competition.

A lack of competition or improper advertising practices may explain why many recent projects have resulted in taxpayers paying sums vastly higher than budgeted. In 2023, West Nipissing also went to tender on a project to rebuild the outdoor rink boards in Cache Bay. After setting aside $137,700 for this project, only one bid came back at $315,000. Council has authorized this budget item to go up $205,000 for 2024 but they may be forced to accept a much higher price after the tenders come back.

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