City reviewing legal options on street-sweeping contract

The city is reviewing its legal options when it comes to its street-sweeping contract, which has been plagued with problems for two consecutive years.

The city signed a three-year deal with an American-based company, DeAngelo Brothers, in 2011 to head up the city’s annual street-sweeping program. The city received several complaints last year, and a staff report found the contractor “arrived in the city with insufficient equipment to complete the contract within the designated timeline.”

Similar complaints were received this year, and both times, city workers stepped in to help the contractor complete the work. The work was supposed to be complete by the May long weekend this year, but street sweepers could still be seen working for weeks afterwards.

Ward 2 Coun. Jacques Barbeau, chair of the operations committee, raised the matter July 9, asking staff what is being done to deal with the chronic problems.

“It's not so much the quality this year, as it was the time it took to complete the work, as well as complaints we received from the public,” Barbeau said.

Greg Clausen, the city's general manager of infrastructure services, said they are not happy with the work of the contractor.

“This has been a very contentious issue,” Clausen said. “The contractor has not performed well, in terms of quality or speed.”

He said the city's legal department is reviewing options on the contract and would report back to councillors in August or September with an opinion on the city's options.

Posted by Darren MacDonald