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The Perth and District Community Newspaper since 1834 October 31, 2013 | 68 pages
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Inside
Highlands council defers high bid decision on French Line bridge
NEWS
By AMY HOGUE
The community remembers Jackie Seaton this weekend with a gathering at Code’s Mill Sunday. — Page P1
SPORTS
News - Following a lengthy debate at Lanark Highlands council on Oct. 22, council voted to defer the award of the French Line Bridge replacement engineering design to a higher bidder and to bring the issue back to committee-of-the-whole (COW) for further discussion on Nov. 12. At a COW meeting on Oct. 1, the committee voted to award the design tender to engineering firm, GD Jewell, despite their having a tender bid that was nearly double the lowest bidder, HP Engineering. Following the COW decision, HP Engineering representatives wrote a letter to council and appeared as a delegation at the Oct. 22 council meeting to clarify the details of their tender prior to council ratifying the COW decision. At the Oct. 1 COW meeting, township staff submitted a report recommending the engineering firm, GD Jewell, be awarded the tender in the amount of $82,495. The report stated GD Jewell was instrumental in Lanark Highlands receiving funding to complete the French Line Bridge replacement. Further, staff indicated that GD Jewell provided engineering services to the township for the last three bridge construction projects. The report states that while HP Engineering had the lowest tenPhoto by DESMOND DEVOY dered amount of $46,330 there were a number of factors which led staff to score them lower than GD Jewell in the selection process. Staff named the lack of experience of HP Engineering as a company Events – The walking dead shuddered, slumped, and staggered around YAK in Perth on and that the main focus of their work has been bridge rehabilitaSaturday afternoon. The undead chased the living around the building during the “Dash tions. The report stated “the main proposal from HP was to attempt from the Dead,” followed by the Zombie Walk that evening. Above, YAK volunteers Dy- to rehabilitate the bridge to extend its life for a further 20 years. lana Close, left, and Molly Hamilton, right, were hiding along the “Dash from the Dead” The secondary proposal from HP was to rebuild the bridge over the existing abutments.” obstacle course, ready to jump out and pounce on the living. HP Engineering Principal Engineer representatives, Luc Monette and Jan Podolak, made a presentation to council objecting to the information contained in the report to committee, namely the lack of experience for their company and the scope of work submitted. Monette clarified that despite being a new company, HP’s key staff have more than 65 years of combined experience, and have designed hundreds of new bridges – references to which were contained in their resume attached to their proposal. In an Oct. 18 letter sent to council and public works superintenCommunity - Canadian Pacific (CP) released Smiths Falls stop will be at Victoria Avenue, the schedule for the 15th year of the Holiday Train Smiths Falls Train Station at 7:15 p.m. and in Perth dent, Dave Ennis, HP Engineering informed council several “conwith pit stops in Merrickville, Smiths Falls and at 8:30 p.m. at the railway crossing on south side cerned citizens” of the Township of Lanark Highlands informed them of the award recommendation to GD Jewell for “nearly 80 per Perth slated for Nov. 27. of Wilson Street. The schedule, available on CP’s website at Since the Holiday Train program first launched cent more than our fees of $46,000 for this assignment.” In the letter, Monette clarified the fees they provided are for the www.cpr.ca and on CP’s Facebook page, outlines in 1999, it has raised $7.4 million and three million scope of work requested in the RFP for the French Line Bridge plans for the ‘train of lights’ to partner with com- pounds of food for local communities. munities in raising food and money for local food Musicians traveling aboard the trains will play replacement. The letter stated that “the staff report erroneously banks. more than 150 free concerts from their boxcar states that our main proposal was for the rehabilitation of the bridge only and that our secondary proposal for the superstructure replaceThe 2013 CP Holiday Train program launches stage. on Nov. 25 in Kahnawake, Que., formally kicking CP asks that attendees bring a non-perishable ment.” The letter added that it would be “extremely unfortunate to unoff the three-week journey of two brightly deco- food or cash donation, and all donations stay with rated trains across Canada and the United States the food shelf in the community where they’re necessarily expend nearly double the design fees for this assignwith its first U.S stop in Scranton, PA. donated. Items like infant formula, canned meats, ment because of a simple misunderstanding… surely the taxpayers The Canadian train will wrap up its journey Dec. and spaghetti sauce are in particular demand for of Township of Lanark Highlands do not deserve such a penalty.” Although HP Engineering acknowledged to council their pro16 in Port Coquitlam, BC, while the U.S. train will the millions of North American’s who turn to food posal did contain a design fee reduction in the event the township journey across the U.S. Northeast and Midwest be- banks each month. fore its final show Dec. 19 in Weyburn, SK. Each Holiday Train consists of 14 brightly dec- wished to entertain cost savings measures, but that page 10 of their Local stops will feature the music of Jim Cuddy orated railcars, including a modified boxcar that proposal clearly outlined that the fees were based on “full bridge has been turned into a traveling stage for perform- replacement.” and Melanie Doane. “Our fees are for the scope of work requested in the RFP,” MonThe train will stop in Merrickville at 103 East ers. For the 15th year, CP’s elves have updated the ette stressed. “There seems to be some misunderstanding in the Broadway & Country Road 2, south side of crossSee TRAIN page P4 See BRIDGE page P5 ing near Bay Street, 6 p.m.
Zombies freak out, run amok in Perth
Th PPerth The th Bl Blue Wings Wi had h d an eventful weekend in the EOJHL. — Page P14
‘FALL’ BACK Daylight Saving Time comes to an end as of 2 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 3. Make sure to turn your clocks back one hour when you go to bed Saturday night. This is also a good time to check the batteries for all the smoke detectors in your home.
Holiday Train rolls into Perth in late November to kick off season
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