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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2014-09-10, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, September 10, 2014 Huron East council approves LED light upgrade RFP Huron East has accepted an RFP for LED street light- ing upgrades. The accepted proposal was for $498,539 plus appli- cable taxes from Realterm Energy (LAS) from Hamilton. Public works manager Barry Mills told council at the Sept. 2 meeting that they received three proposals. The three proposals were each given a score out of 100, based on seven items of criteria; • Company profile (10 points) • LED fixtures (15 points) • Drivers, optical system and photocell (10 points) • Warranty (10 points) • Proposed design and project management (20 points) • Other value adds (10 points) • Proposed fees (cost and payback period) (25 points) The proposals were evalu- ated by Mills, treasurer Paula Michiels, CAO Brad Knight and councillors Nathan Mar- shall and David Blaney. Realterm Energy (LAS) received the highest score with 88.4/100. ERTH Holdings Ltd., which bid $475,673 for the RFP was second with 88/100, while LED Roadway Light- ing, which bid $522,877, was third with 81.5. Mayor Bernie MacLellan said it could be difficult to use a point system for some- thing they haven't purchased before and asked whether staff had contacted other municipalities that have had LED lights installed by the company. According to Mills, it was a "difficult evaluation" and said all the companies that submitted RFPs had received positive references. Coun. Bob Fisher asked if was any interest in using decorative LED lights. Mills said that is a possibil- ity but the municipality needs to determine how they are going to fund the upgrades. In his report, Mills noted there aren't significant reserves to pay for the improvements. He said both Seaforth and Brussels system could be funded through their respec- tive trust funds, because the work would be within the mandate of the trusts to pro- vide specific to their respec- tive wards for the benefits of the citizens within the wards. Coun. Andrew Flowers asked the RFP is a "one for one" deal. "All of the lights of Huron East will be replaced," Mills said. Fisher asked whether there would be need be to any new infrastructure built. Mills said they would need to refuse every post, and there is a possibility there may have to work done but it would be performed by the municipality's contractor. Councillor wants to see lighted pedestrian crosswalks Coun. Bob Fisher would like to see a lighted pedes- trian crosswalk installed somewhere on the main street of Seaforth. "I've heard from three ladies who were crossing near Foodland and they were almost hit," Fisher said, also noting that a woman was killed in Seaforth three years ago. "I'd like to see my fellow councillors walk around downtown Seaforth and Brussels and see what they think," Fisher said. He said Grand Bend has installed two lighted cross- walks, and said he was told it cost around $90,000. VTELEPHONE DIRECTORY j DO WI HAVII YOUR NUNIIIIM 3' —1 It's time again for the ever popular SEAFORTH & AREA PHONE BOOK 5 IFYOU... 2 • Moved • Changed Your Number • Add Your Cell Phone 1:2 • Have Your Number or Address Incorrectly Listed Zo, • Are New to Seaforth 2 ...PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE 2 to arrange any changes necessary sii, to ensure your Phone Book is up to date and correct! -2 _0:e.:0. I) '7 •ok-1410* 5 co t'ziA0-1.09 .,,,,, ectts.0' 2 7 Seaforth Huron Expositor 8 5m1A AcF1 () R4T6- OR FAX US AT 519-527-2858 Deputy mayor Joe Steffler said while he has sympathy for people who are struck by cars, people do need to take some responsibility when crossing busy town streets. Coun. Larry McGrath said he feels they need to use a better quality of paint at existing pedestrian cross- walks in town. "Go out there and try to find a line," McGrath said. However, Fisher said the OPP and representatives from the CNIB have told him that unless a pedestrian crosswalk is lighted motor- ists are not obligated to stop. "It creates a false sense of security and opens us up to legalities," Fisher said. McGrath said it is still a "common courtesy" for motorists to stop at crosswalks. Public works director Barry Mills noted that lighted pedestrian crosswalks would have ongoing costs tied to them and he also said that many people don't cross streets at the painted lines anyway. DeKroon questions the delivery of water testing results Coun. Alison DeKroon wants to make sure residents are receiving water testing results in an expedient fashion. At the Sept. 2 council meeting, DeKroon spoke on behalf of local residents who said their water was tested in October 2013 but didn't receive the results until Feb- ruary of this year. DeKroon said the original testing showed levels of lead in the water. She also noted the resi- dents had some health con- cerns and their doctor had asked them if they were exposed to heavy metals. DeKroon questioned why it took so long for the results to reach the residents, add- ing that they had said they were given "excuses" such as "the turbines were taking up too much time More testing was done in May of this year, and DeK- roon said they promptly send to the residents. "They want to know why the first results took so long," she said. The May results showed levels of lead in a shed sam- ple, but they were below the drinking water standard of 0.01 mg/litre. A letter from Dave Far- rish, Walton Landfill engi- neering project manager stated the likely source of lead in the shed sample was from piping and plumbing material. "There is no old piping on this property," DeKroon said. "Lead testing is something that needs to be done professionally:' CAO Brad Knight said resi- dents usually received their results in an acceptable timeframe. Mayor believes funding programs reward munici- palities with bad finances The province has announced two new munici- pal infrastructure initiatives. The $100 million per year Ontario Community Infra- structure Fund (OCIF) is based on application -based and formula -based components. Also the provincial and federal governments are accepting an intake to iden- tify priority projects for the Small Communities (SCF) fund, which will see each tier provide 272 million to sup- port projects in municipali- ties with populations less than 100,000. At the Sept. 2 council meeting, CAO Brad Knight said these programs are very similar to the M3 funding initiatives. He suggested that second phase of improvements of water, road and sewage ser- vices in Vanastra be submit- ted through the SCF fund, and potentially a bridge in the municipality that needs work could be submitted through the OCIF. Knight said while "it is fine to have to these programs'; he reminded council they that Ontario Municipal Part- nership Funding (OMPF) had decreased for Huron East by $500,000 in the past two years. CONTINUED > PAGE 3 OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Seaforth Huron Expositor are as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 9am - 5pm Seaforth ikon Expositor 8 Main Street, Seaforth ON PH: 519-527-0240 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com