The Humboldt Broncos Memorial Committee, and the City of Humboldt as fund holders for the Committee, are steadily moving forward with plans for the memorial site on Highway 35.
At its regular meeting on Monday night, City Council heard how challenges with key agencies, including the Ministry of Highways, CN Rail and SaskPower, have led to delays in starting work on the Memorial Site.
A report provided for Council by City Staff Liaison to the Memorials Committee Penny Lee indicated that engineering firm Catterall and Wright had completed the design work and the Committee had entered discussions with local contractors about proceeding with the construction.
“Through this process, Krisch Construction, a locally owned and operated company, revealed a willing to work with the Committee and provided an initial quote for site preparations.”
Following some design changes suggested by the Broncos’ families, Kirsch construction was asked for an updated quote.
As the Memorial funds are held by the City, and the City’s purchasing policy generally requires a tendering process, Council was asked to entertain a recommendation that Kirsch Construction be awarded the contract as a sole-source provider.
The rationale, Lee explained, was to avoid any additional delays in the project that has already seen many hurdles. The revised quote from Kirsch, down $15,000 with the modifications, was presented at $289,111.98.
Council voted to accept Kirsch as the sole-source bid for the project with the design in place from Catterall and Wright. A schematic of the design is available in the meeting minutes of the City of Humboldt website.
The report acknowledged that a sod-turning or other such recognition of the work’s initiation needs to be held, when appropriate.