Thompson city council will host a special meeting at 5 p.m. March 12 to vote on a sole-source purchase of pumps for the Riverside sewage lift station.
The cost to purchase the pumps, which development services director Harkamaljeet Singh Gill says will be reimbursed to the city by the Manitoba Water Services Board (MWSB), is $238,861.44.
“MWSB has determined that the most cost effective approach is for the City of Thompson to purchase the pumps directly from the manufacturer rather than making the purchase through the project to avoid mark-up costs,” says a memo from Gill. “It is estimated that this will avoid mark-up costs of up to $30,000 per pump (up to $90,000 in savings).”
The pumps will be purchased from Xylem, whose pumps are the only ones that meet the specifications of Stantec, the design engineers of the new wastewater treatment plant currently under construction.
MWSB contacted Infrastructure Canada to ensure the pumps could be included under the existing sewage treatment plant construction project contract, which is being funded one-third by the federal government, one-third by the provincial government and one-third by the City of Thompson, and were informed that they could, the memo said. Infrastructure Canada also approved the city making the purchase outside of the project contract.
Special meetings are held to discuss and vote upon a single issue and do not include many of the agenda items of regular council meetings, like general inquiries, minutes approval or the mayor’s report.