Oakham Town Council members are once again being asked to approve a large expenditure
without a final total and a out of date quote,.
At Oakham Town Council we changed standing order requiring us to obtain three quotes and
value for money to the clerk will strive to obtain three quotes.
Yes I get into trouble for saying this, we employ a clerk who can not be bothered and we have
a council that appears not to be bothered about obtaining value for money when procuring
large contracts.
As a Councillor it is my duty to point this out and I will until the council does things
properly. I do not believe the council Clerk could not find anyone else to tender to replace
a path or in other recent cases find anyone to tender to clean the toilets or maintain our
three little play areas.
I have written the following to the council members as it is difficult to speak at meetings
due to the chairman's restrictions.
Dear All
Rutland Radio News is reporting we are to decide later whether we are to spend £60,000
on paths in Cutts Close.
We are being asked to spend up to £60,000 when the information in the report provided
indicates a much larger sum.
We also have the issue of only have a £25,000 budget.
I am not sure why Rutland Radio News are reporting £60,000 if they had just looked at the quote
they would find we would need more to cover the VAT.
They should be reporting we are working on one quote and guesses for other fees and costs.
They quote provided contains errors as did the previous quote provided by the contractor.
If you look at item 2 that is just one example the measurement for two different paths
have the the same in one box and a different conversion in the other box.
I am told we only have one quote because no one else responded. This is unacceptable
and once again shows a very poor effort from the office.
I do not believe there is no other company out there that can not provide us with a quote
to lay a simple path.
We are meant to seek value for money for the tax payer and like all the other contracts
we have failed again.
This not an attack on the Cllr Lowe who has worked on this task because
It is not a Councillors job to procure tenders, it is the Clerks. if the clerk is not
able to obtain commercial tenders by advertising in the correct places and approaching
individual companies for quotes, then perhaps we should appoint a working group
to assist Cllr Lowe obtain quotes and complete costs. Cllr Lowe on his own can not
be a working group.
This could be done before the budget for next year is set, so we can raise the extra
funds needed from the precept next year.
As the report says we only have £25,000 in the budget and the office has ignored
my question asking what budget the approx extra £50,000 will come from if we agreed
to go ahead tonight.
The office has also ignored my questions relating to this evenings accounts questions,
they will be all be asked at this evenings meeting as they should be in an effort to be
open and transparent. I get fed up being told by the chairman that I should ask
questions outside the meeting only for them to be ignored time after time.
From: Cllr Martin Brookes
Oakham South East Ward Town Councillor
13 Willow Crescent, Oakham, LE15 6EQ
One out of date Quote provided for this evenings meeting:
Oakham
Town Council
Victoria
Hall
39
High Street
Oakham
Rutland
LE15
6AH
13th July 2017
Our ref: EST 22031
Email:
enquiries@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
For
the attention of Allison Greaves
Dear Sirs
Surfacing
at Cutts Close Park
Thank you for your enquiry. We are pleased to
offer our quotation as follows.
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Lower
Path
|
|
|
|
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1
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Excavate,
cart and dispose of existing surfaces 230mm deep
|
161 m2
|
|
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2
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Construct
150 x 50 FT edging bedded and haunched in concrete
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214 lin met
|
|
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3
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Place
and compact 160mm GSB Type 1 sub base
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161 m2
|
|
|
4
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Lay
and roll 50mm AC20 binder
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116 m2
|
|
|
5
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Lay
and roll 20mm AC6 surface
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116 m2
|
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|
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All in the sum of
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£32,098.00 + VAT
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Upper
Path
|
|
|
|
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1
|
Excavate,
cart and dispose of existing surfaces 230mm deep
|
114 m2
|
|
|
2
|
Construct
150 x 50 FT edging bedded and haunched in concrete
|
152 lin met
|
|
|
3
|
Place
and compact 160mm GSB Type 1 sub base
|
114 m2
|
|
|
4
|
Lay
and roll 50mm AC20 binder
|
114 m2
|
|
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5
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Lay
and roll 30mm AC6 surface
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114 m2
|
|
|
|
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All in the sum of
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£25,261.00
+ VAT
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|
Fencing will be by using plastic barrier fencing.
We
would anticipate a period of working days to carry out the works:-
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||
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(i)
Lower path – 12 days
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(ii)
Upper path – 10 days
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We
have not allowed for contacting National Monuments Consent and
Survey
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Rates
are fixed until the end of October 2017
Rates
allow for one visit to site
Quantities are subject to remeasurement
VAT will be added at the standard rate
Payment
terms strictly: NETT Payment due 28 days from date of invoice.
Please note: A written purchase order must be provided before any
works are undertaken.
Yours faithfully
For Martin Cowman Ltd
Paul Boyd
Operations
Manager
|
Report No. TC06217
Appendix: Hi
Agenda Item No. 13
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Oakham
Town Council
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Report Author: Cllr
Adam Lowe
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Subject:
Repair and Widen Cutts Close Path
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Background: The paths in Cutts Close are in need of widening and repair, please see attached sheet.
The Council allocated £25,000.00 in the 2017/18 budget. This may need to be reviewed subject to the cost of the works.
As per the last meeting I prepared a document, attached, and sent it to five County Council recommended and approved contractors, inviting them to quote for the path works.
The quotes presented with this paper are those that were received by the office and now the Council have an opportunity on how it chooses to proceed.
Proposals to be considered:
1) Suspend Standing Order 6-month rule? To enable a cost review
2) Review the cost and increase budget to cover cost of expenditure
3) Council award the contract to Martin Cowman Ltd to complete the works in full or part
4) Clerk to obtain planning permission. Additional cost of approx. £500
5) Clerk to obtain Scheduled Monument consent
6) Clerk to obtain a road closure for the path. Additional cost of approx. £250
7) Clerk to arrange for archaeological reviews at the additional cost of £300 per day
