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4-The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, February 17, 2004 I TE REDING Wkaf does 2004 have -Shortage of contractors in Con o nbegstiro n stdore for volu? 1s'v trindustrydr in Corn toCanebeges earornandlearn about the origin of tea while sarnpling somne of the new teas from around the world. u o t fp a tu g a e We then invite you to have your tea leaves read in a private u o t fp a tu g a e setting by our accomplished reader. By JASON MISNER Hamuilton and those mumcipalities hour peniod. The sludge, as a resu I1Various Sessions Available. The Champion are ail battlsng for contractors, Mr. wull spend less tulle in the op Please coUl for details (905) 877-1923 A shortage of contractors mn the Murphy said. Some projects are to tanks, cuttmng down on potent 126 Main St. S. Downtown- Georgetown NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING On SepteTmbe 22j 2003, Englneering Report "Mattamv Wellwood/Brownrldne Bika water and wastewater industry is driving up costs for plant upgrades and new construction in Halton, and acrosa Ontario. Halton Region budgets for proj- ects to reflect and forecast as best as possible actual pricing. But Patrick Murphy, Halton's planning and public works commissioner, said a lack of contractors witb the technical expertise to complete tbese complicated water/sewage projecta combmned witb ample con- struction opportunihies are forcing up prices. LIs other words, they can essen- tially pick and choose their projects and largely dictate thse costs. And Mr. Murphy said it's possi- ble Ibis trend could continue for thse next four or five years. -1Tbere's a capacity problemn in thse industry right now," bie said. "Over time, thse industry will respond" with more contractors commng on Mie to compete for ten- der bids. 'Mis trend isn't indicative of Use water and sewer pipe industry, bie noted. "A big driver is Use fact tbere's a lot of work in Use GTA." There are projects on-going in York, Peel, Toronto, Durham and aoaress provincial requirements borne from, Walkerton recommen- dations while others are to meet growUs demands or upgrades to older facilities. Costs at Milton plant up by $1 million Halton bas .already been dinged by Use rising construction coats. lIn a planning and public works committee report approved at regional council Wednesday, it stated Use coats for upgrades to Milton's wsstewater treatment plant bave ballooned by almoat $1 million. It was budgeted in 2003 at $1 .4 million but eventually came in at a tendered price of almost $2.4 mil- lion. TIse extra costs will be covered by reserves. TIhe Region will make upgrades intemnally to improve how thse Milton plant handles and contains sludge, which can produce a smell. The automated system will remove aludge more regularly. Sludge is currently moved from, open tanks into closed tanks once per day for treatment during a reg- ular eight-bour shift. The upgrades will allow the sludge to be remnoved a few times over a 24- .lt, odours. The upgrades are needed to accommodate extra servicing from, industrial and residential usera wilbout having to pbysically expand Use plant, usually an expen- sive venture. Further, tbe report noted that Usree oUser construction projects - including planned upgrades to Burlington's Skyway water plant - ail saw costa spike by about 50 per cent due to Usis supply shortage of contractors. Unm Dennis, Haiton's director of engineering, said these cost impacts will be addressed in future budget years. "We're going to take steps to accommodate Usat,' hie said. Burlington Regiona Councillor Mike Wailace, aiso chair of Use planning and public works coin- mittee, said budget forecasting needs to be improved. He's worried sbout how much more prices will rise over lime ver- sus what was budgeted. "If Usis trend continues, we're going to have to decide if projects get delayed or not." Jason Misner can be reached at jmisner@miltoncanadianchampi. on.com. à Blue boxes in the A zone will be collected on Wednesday February 18th. Please refer to your 2004 Curb Appeal Waste Collection calendar for more information or contact Access Halton at 905-825-6000 or Toll Free at 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866).