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Huron-Kinloss has a good hydrant supplier now and should stick with
it, says public works director Hugh Nichol.
In general committee July 6, Nichol was responding to a June 15
presentation by J.A. Porter Holdings of Lucknow and Clow Canada
which asked the township to reconsider its stance on hydrants and
allow Porter an opportunity to bid on tenders in the municipality
where it is located.
In his report, Nichol said the township specifies the Mueller Canada
Valve brand of hydrant for all water projects based on the
following:
*Familiarity of the product to township workers, water operators,
water contractors and the engineering firm in terms of performance,
installation and repair. There are 212 hydrants in the township
water systems of which only four are the McAvity brand manufactured
by Clow Canada. Lucknow originally installed seven McAvity hydrants
during the sanitary sewer project in the early 1990s. Three of the
seven have since been replaced by a Canada Valve hydrant.
*There are enough subtle differences in hydrant
style that would require the township to carry additional inventory
for repair.
*Based on past performance, the township has no reason to change.
(next column)
14/07/2009 06:04 PM
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"I, personally have 20-plus years' experience in working with the Canada
Valve product and believe it gives exceptional value for the money,"
said Nichol. "I have been told by a past employee that this particular
sales representative (Clow Canada) has approached council before to try
and persuade the township to use this brand, to no avail."
Nichol said the brand of hydrant is specified for other related items,
such as service saddles, piping, curb boxes, gate valves, etc., but
allows for substitutions at the approval of the public works department.
By specifying, the township ensures all bids received have been priced
based on the same technical components, he said.
"Also, we do not specify from which utility source supplier a
contractor, bidding on a project, purchases his materials, said Nichol.
"Therefore, even if we allowed Clow Canada hydrants, there is no
guarantee the contractor would use Porter as the supplier."
Finally, Nichol said the township purchasing policy urges the support of
local vendors, where practical. "We acknowledge that a Clow Canada
distributor is within our municipal borders. However, public works
utilized J.A. Porter Holdings (Lucknow) Ltd. in the amount of $100,000
other works in 2008. I do not believe a $3,000 fire hydrant warrants an
alteration to the township tendering process to accommodate a single
supplier."
Nichol said he likes the Mueller Canada Valve hydrant and so does the
township. "There is no reason to change for the simple reason of
changing," he said.
Council agreed.
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