Castlegar city council has awarded a construction management contract for the expansion of the West Kootenay Regional Airport.
The job goes to PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. of Kelowna, who will be paid $60,000 plus tax. Project manager Anne Simonen said the company submitted one of six bids for pre-construction services.
They will be tasked with working with an architect the city hired last year to design the project.
Simonen said the construction management delivery model is being used more often by municipalities on complex projects where a “high degree of collaboration is desired between the owner, contractor, and consultant.”
She said bringing the contractor on board during this phase will allow them to provide advice on improving the design.
“You have someone who’s got the building mindset looking at what the architect is coming up with, being able to provide comments,” she said. “It also lowers the risk of extra costs during construction for the same reason.”
At the end of the design phase, the city will be provided with a fixed price to complete construction. The city has the option of accepting and allowiung the contractor to complete the work without a separate procurement process.
However, if the city feels a “lack of compatibility” or thinks the price is too high, it can walk away from the relationship and re-tender the project or find another model.
“But the idea is that since we’ve worked very closely with this contractor, we’ll have a good relationship,” Simonen said. “They understand the project very well, so they’re the best people usually to do the construction.”
Councillor Sandy Bojechko said she was concerned that under this model, local contractors will be shut out. Simonen explained the contract was open to local bidders, but it was important to find someone with experience in airport construction, which PCL Constructors has. She said there are “sensititives” around security and working with Transport Canada, NavCanda, and CATSA to be considered.
Once the project goes actually goes to tender, PCL Constructions will need subcontractors, and local tradespeople will have the chance to bid on those jobs, Simonen added.
