City council has awarded a $1.5 million project for the second phase of rehabilitating Salmon Arm's foreshore sanitary sewer main.
At its Oct. 15 meeting, council voted unanimously in support of a motion supporting a staff request to award Phase 2 of the Foreshore Sanitary Main construction project to Michels Canada Co for $1,459,936 plus taxes. This was the lowest of four bids received for the project that involves lining another 775 metres of the sanitary main running along the foreshore trail.
Phase 1 saw to the lining of 1.3 kilometres of the main south from Raven, while the third phase will involve linking the remaining 1.5 kilometres leading to Marine Park.
The first phase was funded with a mix of $1.42 million in provincial and federal grant money, and another $300,000 from the city. Funding was sought for the refurbishment of the more than 50-year old sewer pipe after a leak in 2012 that allowed water to infiltrate the system and wreak havoc on the city’s sewage treatment plant. Six days passed before city crews were able to locate and repair the leak.
City engineering and public works director Rob Niewenhuizen called this a very important project, and to complete the second phase he asked that council also approve the reallocation of $122,000 from the future 4th Avenue SW (Trans-Canada Highway to 10th Street SW) construction project. Furthermore, council was also asked to authorize a 10 per cent contingency of $146,000.
"Our budget isn’t sufficient to covert the recommended contingency of 10 per cent, so we are asking for an increase in funding and we are asking that we take this funding from a project that has been on the books for a number of years because it’s in conjunction with the four-lane project west of town, and it’s for some sewer and water renewals of 4th Avenue southwest," said Niewenhuizen, adding that project may not happen until 2026.
Agreeing on the importance of the project, Coun. Kevin Flynn noted "it’s just amazing that a project that probably 95 per cent of our community doesn’t know is happening is a million-five plus the contingency."
Niewenhuizen said the work would be done in the winter and more information will go out once the city has received a detailed timeline from the contractor.
