Plot twist: Council purchases UTV from J&R Cycle
Councillor John Broderick had to recuse himself from the council table this week as fellow members debated quotes for a new utility terrain vehicle (UTV) for Clearview Fire and Emergency Services.
Broderick is the owner of J&R Cycle in Stayner, which ultimately won the bid for a Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 Northstar Premium worth $42,233.47, even though it was not the lowest, when the purchase was discussed at council a second time.
At its March 23 meeting, council directed Fire Chief Scott Davison back to the drawing board when members said they preferred not to purchase a CF Moto, which is Chinese-made.
Davison said he had chosen the UTV for the warranty, power, pricing and trailer compatibility.
Councillor Robert Walker said he wanted to see more quotes based on broader specs to “open up the field to other dealers… Because we have dealers in our own Clearview Township that weren’t able to even submit a tender on this because of the itemized fine-tuning of the product.”
“It’s frustrating,” said Mayor Doug Measures last month. “I want to support local just like everybody else.”
Broderick voiced several concerns about the machine including the number of cylinders and the wheel base, raising its centre of gravity and impacting its hill-climbing capability.
“Most people assume that they are all the same, in my opinion they’re not,” he said. “I’m sorry but I just have a lack of confidence in this particular machine. I won’t be supporting it as part of our fire department. I think we need something a little more, in my opinion, dependable.”
When topic was raised again on Monday, Davison presented five quotes for UTVs manufactured by both Polaris and CF Moto, with the lowest bid coming in for the latter from an Uxbridge dealer in the amount of $37,007.50. In his report Davison recommended the purchase from J&R Cycle because, even though the CF Moto has the same five-year warranty, “the ground clearance, the towing capacity, the horsepower, everything for the Polaris Ranger came out just slightly above the CF Moto specifications.”
“It came down to choosing the Polaris,” said Davison. “There were two kind of comparable in price, one from Allan Byers Equipment, the other from J&R Cycle. But what J&R Cycle did include was the extended five-year warranty as Byers did not. That’s a $2,000 option, which put J&R’s bid above Byers.”
Councillor Robert McArthur was the only member to vote against the bid from J&R Cycle, coming in at third lowest.
“I must say, I know we’ve talked about procurement bylaws and supporting local and all that stuff, but in my mind, a $5,000 difference, that’s over 10 per cent,” said McArthur. “So I can’t vote in favour of going with this… I’ve talked to a few people about the CF Moto as far as reliability and whatnot, and I’ve talked to Polaris owners… everybody has their favourites. So I think we should go to the CF Moto bid of $37,000.”
The Kubota UTV currently in use by the department, valued at about $15,000, could either be sold as surplus equipment, or may be purchased by or transferred to the recreation department for use in trail maintenance and garbage collection.
Tenders approved
At the same meeting council considered four recreation-related expenditures:
Council approved the replacement of the filtration system at Stayner Centennial Pool at a cost of $119,500 in the hopes of extending its life.
“Without replacement, the mechanical system’s future is in jeopardy,” reported manager of parks and recreation Amanda Murray. “During budget deliberations 2026, it was decided that the capital
replacement will take place after the summer season so that the pool can open in June 2026.”
Staff explained that due to the specialized nature of the work, a single source procurement method was used, with PPL Aquatic, Fitness and Spa Group Inc. being selected as the contractor, the same company that performs regular maintenance of the pool, in addition to the annual start-up and closure.
The job includes the replacement of the circulation pump, two sand filters, the flow meter, all piping and plumbing fixtures, the strainer and gauges. Work will begin in the fall as to avoid disturbance of the summer season, if the mechanical system holds out that long.
Council also approved the purchase of dehumidifying equipment from J.L. Wilson and Sons Industrial Refrigeration, now Carmichael Engineering, for the Creemore arena in the amount of $89,430.
Two units currently in use at the arena break down frequently and parts are no longer readily available for repairs, reported director of parks and recreation Terry Vachon.
The new equipment is expected to significantly improve the atmosphere inside the facility by reducing fogging.
Once again, the equipment was sourced from a specific supplier due to the specialized nature and the need to connect to an existing system.
Council is proceeding with the replacement of the leaky metal roof at the Stayner Tourism Centre at a cost of $55,932.79.
Back in 2024 staff flagged the need to replace the roof and commissioned an asset management program which gave the roof a poor rating and estimated a replacement cost of $120,000. Vachon said he is pleased with the decision to postpone the tender in order to get a better price.
Out of 11 bids received, the tender was awarded to Above All Roofing and Contracting Inc.
In addition to the work on the new bleachers at Gowan Memorial Park in Creemore, Mountain Ridge Custom Homes is proposing to add ground level “dugouts” as a second phase of the park improvement project.
The dugouts, budgeted at a cost of $100,000, would be constructed in the fall of 2026, or in early spring 2027 with $25,000 raised by the builder and $75,000 from the Harper Family trust.
At the April 13 meeting, proprietor Gord Zeggil was exempted from security deposits, permitting, and insurance costs so he could proceed with the construction of the replacement bleachers after he teamed up with ball player Zak Hayward who didn’t want to see the old bleachers replaced with pre-fab metal ones.
The township will pay out the total project cost of $225,000 and will be reimbursed through the various donations.
“The township asked if the $75,000 trust support could be donated directly to the township and could this portion be tendered. The business owner stated the trust’s donating condition required Mountain Ridge Homes Inc. to be the builder,” reported CAO John Ferguson. “This is a rare circumstance for which the township foregoes tendering a project. Because this is a community gift with donations from various sources the township will be required to purchase the donated items and staff payroll up front, with the recipients donating the exact amount of money they receive from the township back to the township for the township to issue a tax receipt for the donation. The owner of Mountain Ridge Homes Inc. must bear the full obligation of the donated money being donated expeditiously back to the township to avoid unnecessary interest.”
On Monday, council approved adding a ground level dugouts project to the Trust/Lease Agreement with Mountain Ridge Custom Homes Inc. as a Phase 2 to the bleachers project, with the project being completely funded through community donations; and, initiated either in the fall of 2026, after baseball season, or in early spring of 2027, before the baseball season.
Council and staff have yet to see designs for the new dugouts.
