Ad Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 6, 1991 Policy adds to health costs, Everyone wants to keep health care costs down and this has caused the Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital District to point out what might.be an oversight to the Ministry of Health. The ministry’s Facilities Planning and Construction Division has a policy stating that construction companies working on any capital health care project costing more than $50,000 must be bonded. Apparently this is a good policy, in that it protects the ministry from financial loss if the contractor fails in some way. But this is the ’90s, says the regional hospital district, and the policy is out of date. The lower limit should be raised from $50,000 to $100,000 and an alter- native to bonding should be offered; a cash deposit, promissory note, letter of credit or certified ‘check perhaps. _ After all, as one director points out, you.can barely build a modem home today for $100,000. A case in point is the eye clinic vat Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton, According to director Les Watmough, this eye clinic is aging. It- was originally built around 1967, he says, and is in- adequate to mect today’s necds. The obvious solution was. an cn- largement and upgrade, and Hazel- ton began preliminary work on the project some time ago. Eventually, all hoops were cleared, and the project was - approved. The ministry would pay $57,000 of the $95,000 estimated —~ cost and the Hospital District approved a grant-in-aid of $38,000 to cover the balance. And with this, the project went to tender. Four bids were received. These ‘totalled $78,000, $117,000, $123,000 and $149,000. The low bid came from a local contractor with a good reputation and was the umdisputed choice of Wrinch Memorial. But as Wrinch Memorial ad- ministrator P.A. Muir explained to Facilities Planning and Construc- tion administrative assistant Eileen Binder in a letter last month: "We would have accepted the lowest bid of $78,000 which was from one of our local contractors, but because he could not provide the required 50 percent bonding, Mr. Richard Grimsdell of your division told us that we could not accept that bid." Muir went on to explain that they then went to the second lowest bidder, Yellowhead Construction of Smithers, and talked them down from their original tender of $117,000 to $99,999. And this led to Muir's next paragraph: "Because your division would not let us accept the lowest bid, even though this bidder offered to pro- vide 20 percent cash instead of 50 percent bonding, I am asking if "or 885/month OAC computer and more time of useful features -- plus options for expansion. setup casy. IGM 1 a registered trade-mark and Persone! 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Printed in Canade. you would increase the approved cost of the project from $95,000 to -$99,999. I understand from Mr. Grimsdell that the requirement of 50 percent bonding adds 4.5 per- cent to the project cost, which is. close to the difference between $95,000 and $99,999." The regional board approved an increase in their share of the pro- ject last Saturday. It only amounts to $2,000, but the board voiced considerable objection to this par- ticular ministry policy. In short, it Special till March 15 S. and PS/t ere trade-marks of inkernaiionel raises the project cost — $21,999, or more than 28 percent in the case of the eye clinic — and it often prevents smaller, local con- tractors from bidding on health care projects. As was explained by one hospital district director, a small, local contractor may be just as capable. as a large Vancouver or Prince George firm, but they can’t afford the annual bonding fee. It adds too much to their overhead and isn't required on most jobs anyway. IBM brings it all home. regional board says _ According to a hospital district - administrative memo, Mills Memorial Hospital had a problem with their nuctear medicine project that was similar to the one experi- enced at Wrinch Memorial. The same memo said that Royce Condie, the architect for the Millis Memorial nuclear medicine project, ‘described. the ministry bonding requirements as unrealistic, detri- mental to small business contrac- tors, and a factor that adds to project costs. ap @ Colour Monitor @ Hard Disk @ Mouse @ Microsoft Works NorthernComputer I ~ Dawson Creek Terrace 900 -102nd Ave. 4720 Lazelle Ave 782-6965 638-0321 Northem Computer Locations Kamloops Prince Rupert 657 Victoria St. 601 2nd Ave West Dawson Creek 374-6887 624-6560 Z LE by, jam Prince George Kelowna WSs 7 si Daneel 1330 5th Ave 546 Leon St. Ss go oP of ( mines 563-2263 762-7753 . 5 Authorized vane | Products eee Soewreet Dealer shee net iad ida Mo SE Se RACY “i . i ay a a =e wy Eu : ; ‘ :