BATTLEFORD - Battleford town council has appointed new engineers for the town.
At their meeting Tuesday, cpuncil voted to award the contract for central engineering services to Associated Engineering and BCL Engineering Ltd. as providers.
A request for proposals had been sent out and three firms responded: Catterall and Wright, BCL Engineering Ltd. and Associated Engineering.
Catterall and Wright had been the consulting engineers for the town up to now. But the town felt it was time to review the contract for engineering services and do their due diligence to see what was out there.
In the end, cost savings were a main reason behind the change to new providers. According to Town Administrator Ash Alam, the savings would range from .5 per cent to four per cent on capital projects.
Mayor Ames Leslie noted the potential savings would amount to a significant number. A savings of four per cent on a $7 million project would be $280,000, he said.
Leslie said this was about “making sure we’re utilizing our funds in the community the best we can without having to raise taxation to cover projects,” citing a number of major projects coming down in the future.
The new providers aren’t unfamiliar to the town. Leslie noted Associated Engineering had done work previously on the bridges and on the hockey rink.
Council passed the resolution to appoint the new engineering service providers unanimously.
