CENTRAL MANITOULIN—Only one tender to supply Central Manitoulin with granular “M” gravel was received in response to a request for proposals issued by council. The Road Committee meeting of May 1 recommended that the tender be accepted as presented.
The successful bidder for the tender was C. Pearson and Son, who submitted a bid of $13.50 per cubic metres for 500 cubic metres at $6,750 plus $877.50 HST and $17.49 for 6,000 cubic metres for a cost of $104,940 plus $13,642.20 and a total of $126,209.70.
The motion to accept the bid was moved by Councillor Derek Stephens and seconded by Councillor Ted Taylor and passed without dissent by council. Mayor Richard Stephens was not in attendance, Deputy Mayor Alex Baran was in the chair.
“I was very surprised that we only got one bidder,” said Councillor Stephens. “Usually we get two or three.” Councillor Stephens quickly added that “Calvin really sharpened his pencil, so we did get a good price.”
A tender process in May 2016 saw council reject the lowest bid in favour of a local supplier. That local bid, also from C. Pearson and Son, was awarded the contract to supply both with a bid of $7,401 at $13.10 per unit for 500 cubic metres of broken 3” and $116,073 at $17.12 per unit for 6,000 cubic metres of granular M.
Mayor Stephens noted during the 2016 debate that the difference in tender amounts was not significant enough to move the municipality from its current supplier.
