Despite not entering into a competitive tender for its new animal shelter and rehoming facility, Kawerau District Council expects to get the best value for money for ratepayers.
The tender is out for Kawerau District Council's new animal shelter. Photo: Supplied / Charlotte Jones LDR
At Tuesday's council meeting, councillors decided against engaging in a tender process with multiple suppliers and instead awarded the contract to Tauranga company Tilt Up.
The decision followed advice from a building consultant who said the tender process would likely cost the council more than any potential price difference between tenders.
Kawerau's pound no longer satisfies health and safety, or animal welfare requirements, and the town needs a new, modern animal shelter and rehoming facility.
The council previously decided the new facility should interact actively with the SPCA located at the same site and incorporate designs and components of other pounds throughout New Zealand.
It decided pre-stressed concrete panels would be the most cost-effective method of construction.
However, to develop a quote, suppliers would have to convert design requirements into workshop drawings, all of which were unique to each supplier's manufacturing system.
The building consultant said suppliers would be unlikely to engage in this costly and lengthy process without assurance they would then be given the job or be reimbursed for the time creating the drawings.
The cost of reimbursing all potential suppliers for this time would likely cost the council more than any potential price difference between suppliers.
By assigning Tilt Up to the job, the council only needs to pay design costs once. Workshop designs and specifications do not need to be approved by an external structural engineer as Tilt Up uses its own engineer and provides all required certification.
Tilt Up will also design and cast all foundations and install all the panels and so there will only be one supplier responsible for the finished product.
The council expects the new facility will be constructed in the 2019/20 financial year.
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