Sturgeon County working on new signage

Proposed design for new Sturgeon County signage to be placed at the 12 entrace to the County.

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

Sturgeon County – County Council sent administration back to the drawing board with respect to quotations for road signs for the 12 entrances to Sturgeon County at its Sept. 14 regular meeting.

Council had previously directed administration to send requests for quotations to several companies to manufacture the signs, but only four answered the call. Administration had narrowed their options down to two companies: Craig’s Welding and Virgil’s Welding Services, but council wasn’t entirely pleased with administrations recommendation to go with the higher bidder (Craig’s Welding) simply because the lower bidder requested that the County provide the logo and lettering design work, a situation that would necessitate the County hiring a third party for that part of the project.

Councillor Tom Flynn had difficulty accepting the approximate $20,000 differential between the two quotes. “I have some difficulty with the difference in dollars,” he said, adding that he believed the design work could easily be done with AutoCAD and a plotter.

Flynn said he was not prepared to support the recommendation, a position shared by fellow Councillor Jerry Kaup, who said the County had an obligation to make a fair decision between the two bidders. Although Kaup suggested that perhaps the process should begin anew, Mayor Rigney said putting the job out for re-tender would be difficult in light of the fact that quotations had already been requested and received.

Council unanimously decided to table their decision making to give administration additional time to look into the matter.

Sturgeon County Council had previously committed up to $85,000 to the road sign project, $75,000 to produce 12 signs and an additional $10,000 for the installation. Six primary highway signs were to be done in 2010 and an additional six secondary signs were slated for 2011.

The County currently has 11 signs in place, each done several decades ago with the County’s then current logo. An additional sign along Highway 2 north of St. Albert was removed when land was annexed. It has not been replaced.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email