WROXETER – Maitland Conservation (MC) board members heard the results of a recent request for proposals (RFP) for a floodplain mapping contract in North Perth.

Flood Forecasting Supervisor Jeff Winzenried presented the results on behalf of himself and Sara Gunnewiek, water resources engineer with MC.

MC had hoped to expedite the project by authorizing the chair and vice-chair to approve the chosen consultant, but due to extenuating circumstances, staff believed there was no longer a rush.

“Expediting the selection of the consultant via the… motion was spurred by the hope of conserving as much project time as possible,” Winzenried said in the report. “Unfortunately, proposal evaluations were delayed due to prioritizing flood forecasting staff time towards the successive runoff events we experienced over the past few weeks. Staff were also informed that delivery of LiDAR products necessary to initiate the project has been delayed; therefore, there was no benefit to hurrying the selection process.”

The RFP was publicly posted on March 2. The project closed on March 23 at 4 p.m.

Staff evaluated each proposal according to a scoring matrix that weighted the following categories: cost, experience, approach, and completeness.

Staff thoroughly reviewed the seven proposals that MC received, ultimately choosing Aquafor Beech Ltd. The proposals ranged in cost from $107,280 to $154,416.

“Overall scores ranged from 74.0 to 82.5. The top three proposals were received from (in ranking order) Aquafor Beech Ltd., GeoProcess Research Associates, and D.M. Wills Associates Ltd,” the report said.

“Aquafor Beech Ltd. bid the lowest price ($107,280) and received the highest score through our evaluation matrix.”

MC board members voted unanimously to accept the report and award the RFP.

Cory Bilyea, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wingham Advance Times