BONNYVILLE - MD of Bonnyville council will proceed with the construction of a new boat launch at Vezeau Beach, but not with a provisional mooring system that was initially included in the proposed project.
At the Sept. 14, regular MD of Bonnyville council meeting, council tabled a decision regarding the Vezeau Beach boat launch and mooring system tender update and asked for more information to be brought back to council before “rendering a final tender decision.”
That additional information was presented to council on Sept. 28, which included tenders for the project and a copy of the engineered drawing for the new boat launch.
“The type of boat launch being installed is a double vehicle cement cast launch,” explained Bowen Clausen, director of Parks and Recreation with the MD of Bonnyville, as he provided council will information. The boat launch will be about 36 metres by nine metres, heard council.
The boat launch design accounts for large boats sizes, existing parking lot, alignment with mooring system location, and high launch traffic and usage. The reason for the longer length is due to the high-low watermark.
Some of the costs for the boat launch are attributed to grade preparation, which must adhere to environmental requirements, removal of the existing boat launch, survey work, and excavation of sediment layer, along with grading and base preparation of installation area, said Clausen.
“Boat launch and mooring system installations of this large size is a specialized field of work with high risk for the contractor. There are many unknowns once you start to enter the water body. This limits the number of interested potential bidders,” he explained.
While multiple contractors inquired about the project, only one compliant bid was submitted to the municipality. The project is tied to the strategic plan and “promoting community development.”
Total tender bid, if the whole project goes forward, is $2.2 million, which leaves a shortfall of $1.2 million.
Administration recommended council to proceed with the replacement of the Vezeau Beach boat launch portion of the boat launch and mooring system project, to be funded from the 2022 capital budget. But administration also recommended that council cancel the provisional mooring system portion of the project, which accounted for $1.6 million of the total cost.
The boat launch portion is pegged at about $626,000.
Coun. Darcy Skarsen made a motion as per administration’s recommendation.
During discussions, it was noted that the boat launch will go on the west side of the current dock system.
Councillors asked about the width of the boat launch, to which it was noted that the design is made so two vehicles can be unloading boats at the same time.
A request to include flags or some sort of markers to show that there are two spaces to launch, was recommended by councillors.
It was pointed out that the new launch will be wider than a road, and two vehicles should fit on the launch at once.
This launch is much longer than other launches at the lake, said Clausen. He explained the launch is made with “precast large cement slabs. They're slid into the lake and fastened down.”
The boat launch will have a 20-to-30-year lifespan, dependent on variable water types and usage, and the launch will require some regular maintenance.
Discussions will be taking place with the Town of Bonnyville, due to users from outside the MD of Bonnyville likely using the boat launch also. The municipality could, for example, introduce a usage fee, to use the boat launch.
Exact usage of the boat launch is unknown, but efforts to gather data are being made and is something that will be measured moving forward.
Coun. Dana Swigart said he was still concerned that only one tender had been received for the project, saying, “We have no idea what this should cost.” He said he was curious about what similar projects in other areas municipalities cost.
“You always hate to find out that maybe you overpaid by double,” said Swigart, who added he supported the project but wanted to be sure the municipality didn’t overpay.
The tender for the project went out across western Canada, heard council. There were multiple inquiries made about the tender, but ultimately only one company offered to bid on it.
Tendering the project again would delay the project and could also see it come in at an even higher price.
The “current boat launch has deteriorated past its point of rehabilitation,” said Clausen He noted that the existing boat launch is too short and too small for the amount and type of traffic it is seeing.
“This has been two years in the making, or even longer. They’ve been doing band-aids on that boat launch for quite a while,” said Skarsen.
A motion to approve the bid for the new boat launch was carried.
