Penetanguishene council approved a procurement bylaw exemption to allow for two Town Dock revitalization plan strategies to be awarded to economic development services firm Factor 5 Group Inc. of Alberta, as part of a $50,000 county grant.
The town is in the process of revitalizing its downtown core through the Town Dock Secondary Plan, a project that aims to overhaul the entirety of the popular waterfront area in two phases over a ten-year span.
Planning and community development director Andrea Betty provided council with the reasoning for the exemption request at a recent regular meeting.
“This was an RFP (request for proposal) that was issued earlier in this year; it was to complete two recommended studies to do a capital budget strategy and economic development strategy as part of the draft secondary plan,” said Betty.
Having obtained an economic development program grant in 2019 from the County of Simcoe, the town received another grant in 2022 for $50,000 to continue the revitalization work on the town dock. The first of the three projects was an amendment to the town’s official plan, implementing the secondary plan and master plan awarded to Sajecki Planning for the continuation of their work on Phase 1; the other two components were valued at $33,000.
Betty explained, “The RFP was released, and when we closed the RFP there were only two bids submitted. Our procurement bylaw requires that we have a minimum of three in order to award.”
However, council had the option to grant an exemption to the bylaw, allowing CAO Jeff Lees the authority to award the tender.
“Because this was funded through a grant,” Betty summarized, “we wanted to make sure that it continues to move through the process and that we had time to do the study and the required public consultation with it.
“This would enable the CAO to award the contract to one of the two bids that we received, and the company is called Factor 5 (Group Inc.)”
Factor 5 Group Inc. is a community economic development expertise and service provider based in Alberta, assisting governments, local businesses and organizations in achieving such outcomes while delivering on broader localized responsibilities to the greater community.
Council held no questions and the motion carried without issue.
Information on the presentation can be found on the Town Dock Secondary Plan and Master Plan Survey page of the Connect Penetanguishene website.
The staff report for the Town Dock Phase 2 contract award can be located on the agenda page of the Town of Penetanguishene website.
Meetings of Penetanguishene council are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and can be watched live on Rogers TV cable 53, or on the Rogers TV website.
Archives of council meetings are located on the Town of Penetanguishene YouTube channel.
