Saskatchewan Rivers School Division passes balanced budget without utilizing surplus

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division has found a way to pass their 2020-2021 budget without dipping into their accumulated surplus. The board of education passed their budget at their second last regular meeting of the school year on Monday, June 8 and the division views it as positive after using surplus to balance last year.

“One thing is that it is a balanced budget and that is a positive thing we have had several years of reductions and we have been able to sustain our operations and balance the budget so that’s a good thing for us,” director of education Robert Bratvold said.

“Another positive is that we have been able to increase our staff slightly in the mental health supports area and so we know that is a growing need and we will be able to respond to that so that is a good thing around our budget,” he added.

Bratvold explained that the division has been able to hold the line of the budget. This comes after dipping into reserves in the 2019-2020 budget. The division did not have to use their accumulated surplus has developed over the life of the school division.

“So we know that we had to access reserves to balance the budget last year and that is not sustainable and so we have been able to balance our budget without accessing reserves and that’s a positive thing for us.”

According to Bratvold, the budget is challenging to pass.

“There are lots of things that we wanted to do in the budget and we didn’t have funding to do and there were other things that we had to reduce and find some savings so that we could maintain our operations.”

“Even additions is one thing but just to keep up with the regular fixed cost increases. The largest portion of our budget is salary. Salaries continue to rise as the cost of living rises and that’s an appropriate relationship but it has an impact on our budget. (About) 70 per cent of our budget is salaries and when they increase that puts pressure on the rest of our budget for sure.”

The board’s overall revenue sees 83.92 per cent come from grants.

On the day the province released estimates, the division’s funding from the provincial government increased by approximately $2 million. The total grants from the Ministry of Education increased from $89,758,572 in 2019-2020 to $91,902,256 in 2020-2021. The division’s federal grant remained steady at $21,300. Other provincial grants remained the same at $294,180.

Governance spending increased from $470,410 in 2019-2020 to $601,327 with the largest expenditure going to elections (scheduled for October) with a total of $100,000.

Building operating expenses went up from $93,349 in 2019-2020 to $95,433.

Instructional salaries and benefits increased from $52,007,513 in 2019-2020 to $53,383,945 in 2020-2021. Bratvold explained that regular fixed cost increases also affect the budget.

Total revenues increased from $109,195,830 to $109,888,814 over last year. Total expenditures also increased from $109,195,830 in 2019-2020 to $109,888,814 in 2020-2021.

Sask. Rivers approves three-year PMR plan

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division knows what the future holds for some maintenance and upkeep in the division. At their regular meeting on Monday, June 8 the board of education approved their three year Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) plan and budget.

The three years approved in the plan cover from 2021 to 2022. There were also some amendments to the current year’s plan passed by the board. According to director of education Robert Bratvold, maintenance is the second largest portion of the budget after instruction.

The funding is directly tied to the plan passed Monday.

“That was approved last night by the board and doing some of those projects will be proceeding in the coming years. It will be important stuff we have many facilities and our maintenance team does amazing work from caretakers to maintenance, to the leadership. We have got some old facilities some buildings are over 100 years old and just still in fabulous condition so that preventative maintenance and renewal is important,” Bratvold said.

Amendments to the 2019-20 plan included projects such as replacing gym floors at West Central School, replacement of windows at Osborne School, playground safety audits and removal and reconstruction of the main entry slab in Meath Park School. All of these projects were started in 2019.

Projects approved for 2021-2022 include a replacement of boilers with high efficiency boilers at Big River Public High School and a replacement of aluminum sliders with commercial grade double glaze windows at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute (PACI)

Looking ahead, projects approved in 2022-2023 include window replacement at St. Louis School, a roofing replacement project at Carlton Comprehensive Collegiate and a gym floor replacement at PACI.

The 2023-2024 list includes a replacement of roofs on the two gyms at Carlton and replacements of windows at King George Public School.

The deadline for submitting Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) plans is June 30.

The projected preventative maintenance budget in 2021-2022 is $634,557, in 2022-2023 the budget is $897,705 and in 2023-2024 the projected budget is $897,795. Each year new projects spring up to keep schools in workable condition.

Province encouraging innovation in graduation ceremonies

The province of Saskatchewan is expected to announce plans for the fall school year later this week and addressed the importance of graduation as the province reopens. Premier Scott Moe emphasized that the education system has done well with distance learning

“Recently we have been asked a number of questions on the potential for Grade 12 graduation. I would like to make a few comments to clarify the province’s position on graduation. It has always been our view that graduation ceremonies can or should occur, albeit in very innovative ways. We would ask that these events could include in-person ceremonies respecting all of the public health recommendations and orders that are in place,” Moe said.

The province is expected to announce plans for the next school year later this week.

Moe explained that he has heard of innovative ideas such as parades and small gatherings.

“I would encourage graduates, parents and those interested in organizing their ceremonies directly with their school or there school division to make these events possible. Grade 12 graduation is a very special recognition of the many years of hard work and commitment that you have provided.”

Moe noted that the initiatives are innovative and being done by schools and school divisions.

“If parents are looking to hold a graduation whether it be virtual or in person they should work with their schools and school division on what they can do that would operate within the public health recommendations and the public health orders that we have. We have always indicated that there is an opportunity for graduations to occur and occur safely.”
Chief Medical Health Officer Saqib Shahab said that the innovative graduation ideas have reached the level of local public health officials.

“I think we are looking at those models in that some may allow for a safe graduation ceremony as long as the basic principles such as social distancing (are in place).”

Shahab also recommends following outdoor protocols of phase three and keeping gatherings at 30 people.

“Going forward I think we need to think about, especially as far as phase five, what have we learned that allows us to hold larger indoor or outdoor gatherings in a way that we reduce the risk of further transmission,” he said.

Moe emphasized that schools and school divisions can innovate within the Public Health guidelines and parameters.

“I would like to take a moment today to offer my congratulations to each and every one of this year’s graduating class on their monumental achievement,” Moe said.

Four more cases and two COVID-19 deaths reported Monday

After just four new cases of COVID-19 were reported over the last five days, Saskatchewan announced four new confirmed positive tests, as well as two deaths, Monday.
“First of all I will begin by expressing our condolences to the friends and family and community of the individuals who passed away as a result of COVID-19. Both were residents of the far north and both were seniors in their 60s and 70s. So again this is a reminder that elders remain the most vulnerable and whenever we have large cluster outbreaks even though 80 percent of the cases, 20 percent can require a high level of hospitalization and unfortunately in a few cases we can have a death as an outcome,” Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said.
Premier Scott Moe also expressed his condolences to open the news conference Monday.
One individual was in their 60s and the second was in their 70s. This brings the total number of deaths in the province to 13.
Three of the new cases were from the far north region and one is in the Saskatoon.
One more recoveries was reported and the total is now 624.
The total number of cases has jumped to 654. The active case number has increased by one to 17.
Phase 3 of Re-Open Saskatchewan began Monday. Effective yesterday, restaurants and licensed establishments are able to open at 50 per cent capacity.

Personal care services not opened in Phase 2 were permitted to open, and gyms and other fitness facilities are able to open.
“Today is a big day for reopening in the province of Saskatchewan. We are down to just 17 active cases in Saskatchewan and we are moving ahead with phase three of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan. This means that today restaurants are open for business, gyms are open for business, childcare facilities will be able to expand their numbers and remaining personal services will now be open,” Premier Scott Moe said during the provinces press conference on Monday.
“As of today virtually every type of business across the province can be open if they choose to do so. Really the only remaining exceptions are casinos, bingo halls and theatres which will be part of phase four,” he added
Art galleries, museums and other indoor recreational spaces have also been barred from opening and will be a part of phase 4
Guidelines are now posted to assist the re-opening of places of worship and child care facilities as part of Phase 3. Places of worship can reopen for indoor services for up to 30 people as part of this phase.
“We continue to work with the leaders from all faith communities to find ways to safely increase the attendance of religious services and celebrations such as weddings and memorial services. This is a priority for us and I would like to thank each of the leaders of all faiths that have been offering not only their advice but have been offering their experience to public health throughout this journey, it is appreciated and I say thank you,” Moe said.
Limits on public and private gatherings have now been increased to a maximum of 15 indoors and 30 outdoors. The government has also announced that outdoor playgrounds and beaches and associated washrooms can re-open on Friday, June 12.
Guidelines for these facilities will include measures such as maintaining physical distancing, frequent handwashing and enhanced cleaning and disinfection of rental equipment and washrooms.
Effective Monday travel restrictions in Northwest Saskatchewan have been lifted, and the Northern Village of La Loche has moved into phases 1 and 2 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
“In the far north we are down to just six active cases. The remaining restrictions on travel in the northwestern part of our province are being lifted effective today. We also now have reopening dates for most of the 12 emergency rooms that were temporarily closed. Eight of the 12 ER s will reopen in June,” Moe said.
The Government of Saskatchewan and the Chief Medical Health Officer continue to carefully monitor the transmission of COVID-19 to inform decisions regarding the pace at which restrictions can be lifted or put back in place if required.
As well playgrounds and beaches are now scheduled to open on June 12.
“Hopefully it’s a great weekend so that families can enjoy some time at the beach or some time at the playground,” Moe said.
Moe explained that the province has done great work flattening the curve and thanked the people of the province.
“This virus has not disappeared. COVID cases continue to increase in many parts of the world including some other parts of our nation and many areas of the United States. So we need to remain vigilant. In Saskatchewan we have proven that we can control the spread of the virus, we can reopen and we can control the spread in the future. Today virtually all businesses in Saskatchewan can reopen and they can operate. They are doing so as safely as possible, they are doing this so that many of us can get back to work, so that more of us can worship in accordance with our faith and so that more of us can access the medical health services that we require and so that more of us, as families, can enjoy our communities and a great Saskatchewan summer.”
With new cases reported Monday, 260 of the cases are from the far north, 173 are from the Saskatoon area, 112 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area, 17 are from the south and 12 are from the central region.
There is still a single person in intensive care in Saskatoon.
There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers. However, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.
Of the 654 cases in the province: 144 cases are related to travel, 393 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 38 are under investigation by local public health, which is a drop of two from Friday.
The age breakdown shows 98 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 232 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 199 are in the 40-59 age range, 107 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range.
The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males.
As of June 8, 52,229 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 536 from Thursday.
As of June 6, when other provincial and national numbers were last available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 39,640 people tested per million population. The national rate was 50,462 people tested per million population.
Emergency rooms reopening

The Saskatchewan Health Authority will soon be re-opening eight of the 12 regional emergency rooms temporarily closed as part of the health system readiness plan as hospitals have been converted to alternate level of care sites across the province.
“We are working very diligently to ensure the ERs are open as quickly as possible. Those four additional ER s have ongoing staffing issues that are unrelated to COVID and so the Saskatchewan Health Authority is working to make sure those are resolved and those ERs are open as quickly as possible,” Moe said.
This helped build capacity for any potential surge in COVID-19 cases and to protect against outbreaks in the medical facilities.
Target timelines in each of the eight communities set to re-open ERs in June include Kerrobert on June 12, Leader and Arcola on June 16, Preeceville on June 18, Biggar and Oxbow on June 22, Davidson on June 24 and Herbert on June 25.
These dates may be subject to the status of active COVID-19 positive cases and ability to meet all required safety criteria and human resourcing requirements for re-opening.
The SHA continues to work on ER resumption planning for the four community hospitals in Broadview, Radville, Lanigan and Wolseley.

Domestic Flights

Posted Travel information related to COVID-19, including all flights returning to Saskatchewan with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are available on the Public Health Agency of Canada website. Two domestic flights have been added: AC 1129 Toronto-Saskatoon on May 29 and WS 3370 Calgary-Saskatoon on May 30. Anyone who was on those flights has been asked to monitor for symptoms.GeneralSmart ListReviews Post template: ?

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There is still a single person in intensive care in Saskatoon.

The number of deaths reported remains steady at 11.

There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers. However, the source of the infections may not be related to health care in all instances.

Of the 654 cases in the province: 144 cases are related to travel, 393 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 38 are under investigation by local public health, which is a drop of two from Friday.

The age breakdown shows 98 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 232 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 199 are in the 40-59 age range, 107 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males.

As of June 8, 52,229 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 536 from Thursday.

As of June 6, when other provincial and national numbers were last available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 39,640 people tested per million population. The national rate was 50,462 people tested per million population.

*This story has been corrected to better reflect where new cases were identified Monday.

RM of Shellbrook passes 2020 budget

The RM of Shellbrook has passed their budget for 2020. According to Reeve Doug Oleksyn the budget remains status quo with mill rates across the municipality remaining steady for the next year.

“We are glad to just try to hold it,” Oleksyn said.

The budget was passed at the RM’s regular meeting on Wednesday, June 3.

Unlike some other municipalities in the area, they did not make any changes to their tax discount structure.

“Payment discounts remain then same starting in July and decreasing as you go towards December with payment of taxes,” Oleksyn said.

The RM also passed the regular exemptions that were passed for the year regarding taxation.

On May 19 Government Relations Minister Lori Carr announced specific funding allocations for all communities within the province under the new Municipal Economic Enhancement Program 2020 (MEEP) and the RM is creating a plan for MEEP and expect to pass it at July’s meeting. Have the proposal prepared and have it done sometime in July.

“We are going over areas that would meet the criteria of funding and by the July meeting we will pass the list and then it will be forwarded so that we will be able to access this funding. Some of the categories would have been equipment, stuff like municipal planning like asset management, there is roads and bridges that also qualify, in some of the hamlets there could be funding gains, lagoons ongoing,” he explained.

MEEP 2020 will provide $150 million, or approximately $143 per capita, to local municipalities to support investments in infrastructure, to stimulate economic recovery and encourage local job creation.

All funding related to the program must be used by the local municipality by March 31, 2022.

RM of Shellbrook continues to adapt to pandemic

With the province of Saskatchewan gradually reopening, the RM of Shellbrook is adapting as well. For the previous two months only Reeve Doug Oleksyn and administrator Duane Storey attended the regular meeting in person.

At their meeting on Wednesday, June 3 more people attended with Oleksyn, Storey, the deputy reeve and another councillor in attendance with the rest of council appearing by teleconference.

“It’s just that level of comfort, we are trying to work with our staff and they seem pretty comfortable,” Oleksyn said.

He explained that for his own protection he wears gloves and the office, which is shared between the RM and town of Shellbrook has plenty of hand sanitizer and social distancing works well.

“In saying that, with a small council, I still think we can social distance enough. And then because of town staff in there you also have to address their issues and we have to work with them too. And I think that they are just finally back up to full staff on the town side. Prior to that they were working from home so they are starting to get more comfortable I think with bringing back people,” he explained.

The municipality also uses social distancing when possible with outdoor crews. They are currently working on projects around the RM.

“You have always got day-to-day stuff going on. I think outside they would struggle with social distancing. They are doing as best as they can but there is some jobs that you just can’t do that all of the time. So all of the workers have to trust one another but it has been working pretty well right now.”

Foreman Bill Aug continues to come to meetings to give his update on municipal operations.

“So we do the list, we ask if he has got requests from the oral reports per division and regular maintenance or signage or problems where there is an area to be checked out and we will ask from him what is going on at the shop, what he is seeing personnel-wise and machinery-wise or how jobs are going so that is our feedback there,” he said.

Oleksyn explained that there is currently plexiglass in place and they are currently working on an agreement between the town and RM on opening the office to the public.

“Right now it has been working well I think after talking to the town side on the administration they would have people generally want more access for water bills and stuff like that.”

They also discussed taxation and options for payment.

“There are some pre-payment options for people if they wanted to pay a monthly amount on taxation just something that the larger centres like the cities would be using already,” he said.

“There is no 100 percent guarantee on the electronic transfers. What we are using right now works well and it is the most recommended for electronic transfers. But there have been breaches throughout the province in other systems, towns and municipalities where the system hasn’t worked like it is supposed to on whatever they were using so we are trying to stay as safe as possible on that side too,” he explained.

The RM has been lucky this year in terms of flooding according to Oleksyn. The nearby RM of Buckland had some flooding issues but so far in Shellbrook it has been minor.

“One thing I can think of offhand is a culvert on the main grid road that was repositioned again and it sort of washed and we are watching a couple of other ones. But they seem to maintain and when you get onto the back or secondary roads there is some washout areas too that had to be fixed up. So they would be hauling material in and replacing the culverts. Beavers seem to be a problem this year in some areas,” Oleksyn said.

No new cases of COVID-19 reported in Saskatchewan Sunday

There were no cases of COVID-19 reported in Saskatchewan on Sunday.

This comes after four consecutive days with a single case of COVID-19 reported.

Twelve more recoveries were reported and the total is now 623. The total number of cases remains at 650. The active case number has dropped 12 to 16.

With no new cases reported the breakdown remains the same with 259 of the cases are from the far north, 170 are from the Saskatoon area, 112 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area, 17 are from the south and 12 are from the central region.

There is still a single person in intensive care in Saskatoon.

The number of deaths reported remains steady at 11.

There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers.

Of the 650 cases in the province: 143 cases are related to travel, 391 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 37 are under investigation by local public health, which is a drop of two from Friday.

The age breakdown shows 97 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 230 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 199 are in the 40-59 age range, 106 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males.

As of June 7, 51,693 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 512 from Thursday.

As of June 5, when other provincial and national numbers were last available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 39,267 people tested per million population. The national rate was 49,702 people tested per million population.

The province continued their theme for the weekend on Sunday and noted that if people are experiencing symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, headaches, aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose or a loss of your sense of taste or smell, contact HealthLine 811 or your family physician for advice on whether you should be tested for COVID-19 or use the self-assessment tool.
Testing for COVID-19 is also now available to anyone currently working outside the home, or anyone returning to work as part of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
As well testing is available for those being admitted to acute care for more than 24 hours, including expectant mothers and immunocompromised individuals and their health care providers.

One new case of COVID-19 reported in Sask. for fourth straight day

For the fourth consecutive day, a single case of COVID-19 has been reported in Saskatchewan on Saturday. The case reported Saturday was in the far north.

No more recoveries were reported and the total remains 611. The total number of cases is 650.

Of these, 259 of the cases are from the far north, 170 are from the Saskatoon area, 112 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area, 17 are from the south and 12 are from the central region.

There is still a single person in intensive care in Saskatoon.

The number of deaths reported remains at 11.

The active case number has gone up one to 28.

There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers.

Of the 650 cases in the province: 143 cases are related to travel, 391 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 37 are under investigation by local public health, which is a drop of two from Friday.

The age breakdown shows 97 cases involving people 19 years of age and under, 230 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 199 are in the 40-59 age range, 106 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males.

As of June 5, 51,181 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 584 from Friday.

As of June 4, when other provincial and national numbers were last available from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan’s per capita rate was 38,846 people tested per million population. The national rate was 48,547 people tested per million population.

The province reiterated on Saturday that if people are experiencing symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, headaches, aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose or a loss of your sense of taste or smell, contact HealthLine 811 or your family physician for advice on whether you should be tested for COVID-19 or use the self-assessment tool.


Testing for COVID-19 is also now available to anyone currently working outside of their homes, or anyone returning to work as part of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
As well, testing is available for those being admitted to acute care for more than 24 hours, including expectant mothers and immunocompromised individuals and their health care providers.

One new COVID-19 case and only one in hospital as of Friday

The number of COVID-19 cases in Saskatchewan continues to decline with one case reported in the far north on Friday after reporting a single case in the entire province on both Wednesday and Thursday.

The number of people in hospital also declined with one person in intensive care in Saskatoon being reported after two the previous day.

As well, three more recoveries were reported bringing the total to 611. The total number of cases is 649.

Of these there are 258 of the cases are from the far north, 170 are from the Saskatoon area, 112 are from the north, 80 are from the Regina area, 17 are from the south and 12 are from the central region.

The number of deaths reported remains steady at 11.

The active case number has gone down one more to 27.

There are currently 51 cases who are health care workers.

Of the 649 cases in the province: 143 cases are related to travel, 390 are community contacts, which includes mass gatherings, 79 have no known exposures and 39 are under investigation by local public health.

The age breakdown shows 97 cases involve people 19 years of age and under, 230 cases are in the 20-39 age range, 198 are in the 40-59 age range, 106 are in the 60-79 age range and 18 are in the 80-plus range.

The gender breakdown shows 52 per cent of the cases being females and 48 per cent being males.

As of June 5, 50,597 COVID-19 tests have been performed in the province, an increase of 682 from Wednesday.

On Friday the province also noted that if people are experiencing symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, headaches, aches and pains, sore throat, chills, runny nose or a loss of your sense of taste or smell, contact HealthLine 811 or your family physician for advice on whether you should be tested for COVID-19 or use the self-assessment tool.
Testing for COVID-19 is also now available to anyone currently working outside the home, or anyone returning to work as part of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.
As well testing is available for those being admitted to acute care for more than 24 hours, including expectant mothers and immunocompromised individuals and their health care providers.

Landfill project moving to next phase for City of Prince Albert

The City of Prince Albert has moved ahead with their project to redesign the Prince Albert Landfill.

The city has put out a request for proposals, which opened in mid-May and closes on June 10, for consultants to provide the city with a detailed design and tender for a new waste cell at the landfill and for decommissioning and reclamation of the existing waste cells.

“The two existing waste cells are coming close to their end of life so the City is planning to have the new waste cell in operation by the fall of 2021,” Nykol Miller, Capital Projects Manager for Public Works said.

The project has already received interest with 11 interested parties visiting the sight at a pre-qualification visit that occurred last week.

The landfill is located three kilometers northwest of the city in the RM of Buckland and is 120.4 hectares, including 13.2 hectares of decommissioned mound disposal, 2.1 hectares of contaminated soil storage, two active waste cells and 30.3 hectares identified for future use.

The existing waste cells are reaching capacity and the new cell will be required by the next year to continue operations.

“The decommissioning and reclamation would be bringing it to Saskatchewan Environment standards where we have to put a cover on top of the existing landfill. There would be a seeding plan, (and) an upgrading plan to bring it to their standards and in compliance with environment,” Miller explained.

Once the request for proposals ends, the project will be voted on the 2021 budget. Pending budget approval, the city anticipates that there would be one new waste cell tender with construction completed in 2021 and one tender for existing waste cells decommissioning and reclamation with construction completed in 2022.

“In 2020 Public Works put out a budget for putting the study together for the cell design and the design and tender for the new weigh scale and the decommissioning, reclamation and also the operations plan and the actual new construction of the waste cell would be part of the 2021 budget,” she said.

The landfill has been in operation since 1974 and in 2002 a hundred-year landfill was designed.

“It is just a continuation of that design from 2002 where we are going to an engineered cell complete with a liner and a Leachate system that takes any of the water from the waste,” Miller explained. “It treats it correctly compared to the cell that had existed prior to that from 1974 to 2002 which was an older design.”

Without knowing the cost of the project the RFP asks that consultants base their proposal on an estimated construction cost of $3,500,000 for the cell construction and $2,000,000 for the optional project pricing for the decommissioning and reclamation utilizing 2020 rates.

This project is for the detailed Design and Tender for one new waste cell and decommissioning and reclamation plan for the landfill including the existing two waste cells. The project will also include a review and update of the Operations Plan.  The scope includes new cell design, future cells design, the updating of the operations plan and a decommissioning and reclamation plan.

After the tender is awarded a cost estimate will be required by October 2020 for budget purposes. Another estimate will be required pre-tender.

Another estimate is required after the tender is awarded based on low tender and other items including engineering and consulting fees with adjustments. These estimates are used for obtaining approvals, budgetary control and construction cost control.