Prince Albert city council has approved a 2026 road rehabilitation and construction contract with BNB Construction Group Inc. after a lengthy discussion about procurement, transparency and a $2.5 million community contribution toward the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre.
Council approved the Year 2 proposal from BNB Construction Group during Monday’s regular meeting. The motion was moved by Coun. Dawn Kilmer and seconded by Coun. Darren Solomon.
The agreement includes the City accepting BNB’s 2026 pricing proposal under road rehabilitation and construction tender 18-25. It also includes BNB’s commitment to provide a $2.5 million contribution to the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre through in-kind parking lot work in 2025 and 2026 and multi-year cash payments.
The motion also includes corporate recognition for BNB at the leisure centre and language applying a mutual agreement clause to the years 2030 to 2034, while maintaining council’s ability to use a competitive procurement process in those years.
Several councillors said they supported BNB and its work, but wanted clarity on the process.
Coun. Bryce Laewetz said his concerns were not about the company, but about procedure and public perception.
“I want to make sure that none of these areas are grey, none of the water is muddied with this, especially when it comes to the perceived agreement,” Laewetz said.
City Solicitor Mitchell Holash told council his advice was that the City was “on side” with contract requirements and trade agreements and could proceed if council chose to do so.
Laewetz also asked whether council would review pricing every year and retain the ability to go back to a competitive process if it did not agree with the proposed pricing. Holash said the City would have that ability in each year.
Coun. Daniel Brown asked whether the cash contribution would be earmarked specifically for the leisure centre. Acting City Manager Craig Guidinger said it would be earmarked for the leisure centre funding model.
Brown thanked BNB for its continued work and said the contribution would help the City.
Troy Parenteau also said he struggled with the item and asked for clarification about how the future years were being handled. Holash said the proposal includes 2026 pricing, the $2.5 million contribution over time and future pricing request language.
Coun. Stephen Ring strongly supported the agreement, saying he had reviewed the documents several times.
“I just want everybody to be clear, there is no catch,” Ring said. “The only catch is we’re getting $2.5 million. That’s the catch.”
Ring said council would still be able to go back to tender in future years if it did not like the pricing brought forward.
Mayor Bill Powalinsky also asked several questions about optics, transparency and whether the proposal changed the original tender terms. Tim Earing, senior operations manager for Public Works, said the structure was “not a normal practice” for procurement, but explained that year-by-year pricing discussions can protect both the City and contractor from inflated long-term prices.
Blake Edwards defended the proposal near the end of the discussion, saying the City was protected and the company was a strong community partner.
“We have a company that’s prepared to give us the pricing. We have the pricing, and we have a proposal or an offer of $2.5 million to give to our community from absolutely terrific partners in our community,” Edwards said. “This isn’t a fishy contract. This is everything was very laid out.”
Edwards said the company had gone through the City Solicitor and provided the information council needed, but council had spent “the last 20 minutes” questioning what was happening with the contract.
With council’s approval, the 2026 road work will proceed under BNB’s Year 2 proposal, while the $2.5 million contribution will be directed toward the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre funding model.
