Still waiting for answers
Charlottetown company continues to press City Hall for meeting over failed bid
A Charlottetown-based company that says it was treated unfairly by the city in a tendering process earlier this year is still waiting for answers.
Doug MacDonald, vicepresident of Charlottetownbased Canadian Tracking Solutions, criticized the council earlier this year when it voted 8-1 to award a contract for technology services to an Ontario’s GoFleet, despite the fact that his firm’s bid was $106,000 cheaper.
The company provides GPS fleet management services to municipalities in five provinces. It also has contracts with companies in P.E.I.
MacDonald said they are also unhappy with the fact their bid scored so poorly in the request for proposals (RFP) process. Canadian Tracking Solutions finished last among the three companies that submitted a bid.
While council normally selects the low bid on tenders, this one was based on criteria, such as technical aspects of the work involved, methodology, management of the work, proposal presentation and cost of the bid.
MacDonald requested a meeting with public works manager Scott Adams, who offered to meet virtually. MacDonald said Thursday he declined and wants an inperson meeting.
“Given the circumstances, that wasn’t going to work,’’ MacDonald said of the virtual meeting. “I’ve been attending several meetings and adhering to all of the protocols and public health guidelines, and they seem to go off without a hitch.’’
Robbie Doherty, communications co-ordinator with the city, said Thursday officials in public works and finance, the two departments which vetted the bids, confirmed the city had extended an offer to meet with MacDonald virtually. MacDonald reiterated on Thursday he does not want a virtual meeting, adding that he has been told in-person meetings have been held at City Hall.
MacDonald said the big issue was with what Adams told the public works committee in a recent meeting – that the manager didn’t think Canadian Tracking Solutions could handle the scope of the work.
The city has more than 100 trucks in its public works fleet. The GPS technology would also have been used to track data for its 12 salt and sanding trucks. The technology enables the city, for example, to track where its vehicles are and how much salt and sand are being applied on the routes.
Canadian Tracking Solutions has been working with this technology for six years.
However, MacDonald says his experience with the technology goes back to the days when he owned and operated Neil’s Ambulance, P.E.I.’s ambulance service before the provincial government awarded a contract to Nova Scotia’s EMC in 2006.
“For us not to be given any credibility and say that (Adams) didn’t know we were capable of doing it, with all of the references that we supplied in our RFP … I don’t think (the city) had any intention of going with anybody else other than GoFleet.’’
MacDonald said not only can his firm do the same work and cost taxpayers a lot less, but it’s a Charlottetown-based company working at a time when politicians at all levels of government have emphasized the importance of supporting local business.