The Town of Smithers has awarded the contract to complete a housing needs assessment to a Burnaby contractor.
In a report by Daniel Patterson, town planner, presented to council at the April 28 regular meeting by Mark Allen, general manager of integrated growth and infrastructure, Patterson wrote the contract went to the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. (SPARC).
The winning bid was not the lowest, but at $23,619 was within the project’s 24,800 budget. The Town received 100 per cent grant funding for the project from the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ 2019 Housing Needs Report Program and the Northern Development Initiative Trust’s Housing Needs Assessment Program.
Only one local company submitted a bid. Watson/Dragowska Planning was also within the budget at $24,170, but only received a score of 37.5 (out of 50) to SPARC’s 40.5).
The eight proposals received were judged by Town staff on: understanding and methodology; work plan and scheduling; experience and past performance; timeline/availability; and overall proposal quality.
The awarding of the contract conforms to the Town’s Purchasing Policy, Patterson wrote.
All B.C. local governments are required by the Province to complete housing needs assessment by April 2022.
A tentative completion date for the assessment has been set for July 14, but council was warned it could be delayed by COVID-19.