By Roy Wood, Special to the Times Chronicle

TRUE Consulting is officially the town’s go-to engineering firm after Osoyoos council authorized CAO Rod Risling to sign a “Master Standing Offer Agreement” with the Kamloops-based company.

TRUE was one of two respondents to a request for proposals (RFP) for engineering consulting services. TRUE came out on top after they and the other contender were graded according to a scoring sheet that had been shared with the applicants.

In a report to council this week, Risling said the town has historically hired engineering services on a project-by-project basis. Having a standing agreement would alleviate the need to consider separate proposals for each project throughout the year.  

Risling pointed out TRUE’s long association with the town: “TRUE’s strength is in the range of services they offer at a reasonable cost, the proximity of their staff to the Town, and in their familiarity with the Town of Osoyoos infrastructure, asset management, capital plans and long-term strategies.

“TRUE is also actively working with a number of other municipalities in the area, providing a regional context to their engineering advice.”

Specific examples of work TRUE will be used for include:

  • Advice on water, wastewater, storm sewers, landfill, airport and other local infrastructure issues;
  • Transportation planning studies and development of a staged capital plan;
  • Pavement and sidewalk management and road building;
  • Emergency management and mitigation;
  • Advice on subdivision development;
  • Engineering aspects of grant submissions;
  • Advice on parks and playgrounds;
  • Site investigations, geotechnical advice;
  • Cost estimates, asset management and capital budget development;
  • Plans regarding asset management;
  • Develop RFPs and tender documents and/or project management on capital projects; and
  • On-site staff in the event of emergencies.

The agreement with TRUE went into effect on Tuesday and has term of four years. Risling pointed out to council that the town is free to engage other engineering firms if a situation requires it. The contract includes termination clauses.

TRUE started in Kamloops in 1986 and has since expanded with branch offices in Williams Lake, Trail and Penticton.

According to its website, TRUE has a staff of 80 across its four offices, including engineers, land surveyors, planners, technologists and CAD technicians.