Hil-Tech Contracting sent a statement to the Trail Times regarding its rejected bids of the Rossglen Park and Harry LeFevre Square projects in Rossland.
The company submitted the only bids for both, however, Rossland city council followed staff’s recommendation to reject the bids at the Sept. 20 meeting because they came in over budget.
“Hil-tech Contracting Ltd is disappointed in some of the comments that the Rossland council has made towards our company’s recently submitted tenders,” read the statement. “Some of the comments openly insinuate that we have inflated our prices due to a busy market place. We can assure you that is not the case.”
The city sent out a Request for Proposals via Civic Info and BC Bids on Aug. 17, with an extended deadline of Sept. 12 and a completion date for Rossglen Park slated for October 2022.
The city’s estimated budget for Rossglen Park improvements was just over $180,000, but Hil-Tech’s proposal came in at $258,495.
Recent inflation has seen prices rise across the board and is a major challenge for the construction industry as it leads to an increase in the prices of building materials, hiring rates of machinery, consultation fees, and other inputs to construction projects.
“Just as an example,” said Hil-Tech. “The lowest quote we received for the Rossglen timber feature was just under $160,000, not far from the city’s budget for that entire project.”
The company would have been responsible for building a large shelter at Rossglen Park. The structure comprised of steel, timber and decked roof spanning between glulam rafters held up by heavy timber posts. The foundation is comprised of pad footings for the timber posts and a concrete slab on grade.
For Harry LeFevre Square, Hil-Tech’s bid of $276,930 (not including GST) was $117,000 over the city’s budget, given the city had already spent over $67,000 on engineering and design services. The main feature for Harry LeFevre Square bid is construction of a permanent public washroom.
The company has a long history of industrial, custom residential, commercial, and institutional construction in Greater Trail, and they would have liked the opportunity to consult with the city before the bids were rejected.
“We would have gladly worked together with the city and the engineering firm to review the tender and come up with collaborative options to meet the city’s apparent budget restraints. Instead we are left defending ourselves from being labelled as a contractor that inflates tender prices when they are busy,” Hil-tech said.
“We take pride in the services we offer and in being honest and fair to all our clients.”