The City of Weyburn introduced a new sewer cleaning and maintenance policy during its meeting Monday night. The new policy requires a single company to be awarded the contract for the city for work carried out in residential areas. This includes working with residents to clear clogged sewer lines and determining whether the bill is the responsibility of the homeowner or the city.
The policy itself describes the minimum requirements, service levels and expectations for sewer cleaning and maintenance services under the City of Weyburn's Water and Sewer Service Connection Fund. With the new policy, the city will contract with Vortex Plumbing and Heating for on-demand, 24-hour sewer cleaning and maintenance. This also includes cleaning sewer pipes. Additionally, the responsibility is to provide inspection reports and camera recording data to the city.
What does this mean for the average Weyburn resident?
While the new policy and contract approved by Council with Vortex will take effect on January 1, there will be an education and leeway period to inform residents of the changes. There will be a social media campaign and mailouts on the city's utility bills.
When a sewer line gets clogged, people call the authorized plumber to make the repairs and inspect the line. Then, if the problem falls within the city's jurisdiction, the city takes care of it. If it's on the homeowner's side, the responsibility falls on them. The policy also clarifies that the city will only reimburse the cost of the work if it is performed by an authorized plumbing contractor.
When asked by Councilman Dick Michel why the change was made, the city's director of engineering, Jennifer Wilkinson, explained that it allowed the city to be proactive rather than reactive when it came to asset management of the wastewater system. Camera work and other reports generated during service calls allow the city to see in advance where repairs are needed so repairs can be made before a failure occurs.
While the policy itself was unanimously approved by the council, the vote for the RFP was not unanimous. Three offers were received, including Don't Plumbing and Heating, Vortex Plumbing and Heating and Larry's Sewer Service. The administration recommended Vortex's offer, which represented the lowest price and, in the administration's opinion, the best offer overall.
Wilkinson explained that Vortex's submission was extremely detailed, highlighting equipment, price and staffing levels.
“There were so many differences between the three that there was really no way to give it to just one of them; Vortex was way ahead of them,” Wilkinson said during the meeting.
While Vortex's application was approved, Councilwoman Laura Morrissette expressed that she does not like awarding a three-year contract as an authorized sanitation contractor for wastewater disposal without the other companies actually having the opportunity to do the work in addition to submitting an RFP .
“I think just because it's such a new policy, more than one company should have had the opportunity to try it out for a year to see if they had other cost-effective methods that could have been taken forward,” said Morrissette then left the meeting.
Other councilors have pointed out that this will be a change and there will be some people who won't like it. This also included Council Member Michel. However, he explained that while it will be a change, the bidders are all local, the numbers are in front of them and they are sticking to what was presented to them.
Wilkinson mentioned that there will be reviews of the work throughout the contract period to ensure contractors are meeting their obligations. The first few months will be spent educating Weyburn residents, after which homeowners will also be asked to provide feedback on the work carried out. Although the contract lasts for three years, it can be terminated before the end of the three years if the company does not meet the requirements set out in the contract.
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