Councillors worried by a good deal
Councillors worried by a good deal
Low bids for water pumps causes some concerns
It’s nice to be back in your inbox after a longer than expected break. I have a few items to let you know about, then I’ll finish off with an explanation of the delay. Chances are that it will make you laugh, don’t worry I agree it does sound funny, but it didn’t feel that way.
But first, I wanted to write about how a couple of councillors responded two weeks ago at the July 9 meeting when competitive bids came in lower than expected.
The case was a contract for three new vertical turbine pumps needed to pump water higher than currently to fill a new standpipe in Hastings. This is part of the overall upgrade to the Hastings drinking system. The municipality had set aside $300,000 for the cost in the 2024 budget.
But the five bids all came in under that, with the winning bid by Interpump Supply Ltd. being just $165,921, excluding GST.
Councillor Daniel Giddings expressed surprise at the low bid, noting it was $80,000 less than the highest bid, and asked if staff were sure the town was getting the same pumps.
A study by a consulting firm that analysed the bids confirmed that the pumps offered did meet the requirements.
Councillor Gene Brahaney said he “continued to be amazed that we take the lower bidder even when local bidders place second.”
Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Phillips pointed out that under the Ontario Municipal Act the municipality legally must accept the lowest bid.
All beaches remain open
The big rainstorm last week did not flood our section of the Trent River, or Crowe River, with sewage, as happened in some other areas, notably Toronto. Extremely heavy rainfall can overwhelm sewer systems and force the release of untreated sewage.
But all three beaches in Trent Hills that are tested regularly by the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge health unit have been declared safe for swimming based on testing on July 19. Those beaches are Crowe Bridge Park and Hastings North and South.
You can check them any time here.
Boat traffic remains steady
The number of boats staying the night in Campbellford was up a bit June, compared to a year ago, says Nancy Allanson, CEO of the Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce, which manages the docking. So far this month, numbers are down slightly.
It is a tough business to be in, since we’re tied to the number of Americans deciding any summer to undertake the Great Loop, a small number of wealthy boaters who are following their own whims and aren’t likely susceptible to any marketing efforts on our end.
Felled by folk festival fever, no really it’s a thing
So on July 9 my wife and I flew to Winnipeg to visit our daughter and attend the Winnipeg Folk Festival from July 11—14. I had planned to write some stories and monitor the council meeting online while there.
That started out normal, although I was a bit busier than expected so didn’t get as much written.
The festival was excellent. It has been operated by volunteers for 49 years and the 3,000 hardworking people do an excellent job. We had sun, lots of it, rain, some, thunder, a trace, and lots and lots of music.
The closing show on Sunday night was interrupted by rain and at the end of the night I felt chilled and tired, so went straight to bed when we returned to Winnipeg. Woke up Monday morning still chilled, feeling like I had a fever and too zonked to move.
Spent that day lying around. I never take pills, but an Advil did seem to help a bit. On Tuesday, we flew home. I wore a mask in case I had covid — two tests said no. But I still had fever and no energy. Once Kathy drove us home I went straight to bed.
The next morning Kathy called the family health team for advice and they recommended double doses of Extra Strength Tylenol, which did lower the fever.
Somewhere along the way I managed a Google search that turned up the existence of the festival fever or flu. It’s caused by dehydration, too much sun, dust, and other fun stuff.
My wife laughed when I told her what I had, but she agreed the diagnosis sounded right. The problem is that it took about a week for the fever to be gone and even now, 10 days later, my energy level is low.
Kathy is talking about what she wants to see at next year’s festival. My current plan is to stay home with the dog.