A Lloydminster neighbourhood is getting a new park this summer after council approved a $567,246 construction contract at its May 25 meeting.
GT Property Maintenance Ltd. was awarded the Parkview Greenspace Phase 2 Earthworks and Landscaping contract, which will see walking trails, trees, shrubs, and park amenities installed on a previously undeveloped site. Construction is expected to start this summer and wrap by October 2026.
The contract price raised questions at the council table. GT’s bid came in at nearly half the price of the next-lowest submission, a gap project manager James Rogers said is not unusual for the firm.
“Contractors have the ability to put in the unit prices that they are confident with,” Rogers said. “No different on this one, they have potential project savings they can put in on methodology.”
Acting City Manager Don Stang backed up Rogers, noting GT has a track record with the city on similar work.
“We have had bids from this contractor in the past on other projects that have been very competitive pricing, and they’ve delivered on those past projects,” Stang said.
GT previously completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 expansion work at the city cemetery, landscaping along 40th Avenue and 67th Street, and maintenance work through the land division.
Councillor Jim Taylor asked whether the project had a detailed design or whether contractors were left to interpret a general plan.
“I see in the map, it’s just a giant orange blob,” Taylor said. “When you’re saying paths and benches and trees, did you provide a design to the contractor of what our expectations were?”
Rogers confirmed the project has a fully engineered design package, including tree and shrub placement, walking trail alignment, site grading, and drainage – all developed by a landscape architect.
Taylor followed up by asking whether future contractor award packages could include an overall design rendering so council can better visualize what it is approving.
“When the public sees that we just awarded this, they’re not just going to see, yeah, that’s right over here,” Taylor said. “So I think it would be helpful if we saw it.”
Stang said administration would look at adding a summary view to future approvals.
Councillor Michele Charles Gustafson added that she would like to see how the Parkview trail connects to the city’s broader trails master plan.
“A lot of times, you get some bits of the trail and then you don’t really know where your next bit of trail is gonna come from,” she said. “Understanding how these pieces fit together not only justifies the master plan, it goes to our strategic plan of wanting to do that.”
A school site remains designated within the Parkview area structure plan near the greenspace. Administration confirmed minimal rework would be needed if that site is ever activated, with a few tree plantings potentially requiring adjustment.
Council also approved a 15 per cent contingency of $85,086.97 alongside the base contract.
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