Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
Saskatoon city council has unanimously approved a motion by Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer requesting administration look into the performance of individual snow removal contractors – and to tie the future of their contracts to how well they do – or don’t do – their jobs.
According to the city, “When more than 5 cm of snow falls, a snow event is declared and contractor graders are added to the City fleet as the snow stops to clean-up freeways, arterial and collector streets, storing snow on medians, boulevards and in parking lanes.”
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Donauer said right now, there’s nothing in place that allows or requires administration to assess and document contractors’ efficiency.
“Over the last year or two … I think some of us, but specifically me, have experienced significant problems with the quality of the work being done and the timeliness of the work being done,” he told council.
Specifically in 2025, Donauer mentioned getting many complaints from constituents about poor work, sidewalks being covered, driveways being plugged in and irrigation channels being damaged. And it got worse after a big snow storm.
“Three or four days after that snow event, almost nothing was done in Ward 5, except maybe some industrial streets,” he said.
After raising the issue, he said he “had enough.” This year, he learned his ward had the same contractor as last year.
“I don’t want a better quality of service than everybody else in the city. I just want to make sure that we all get a comparable level of quality of service across the city,” he continued.
When Donauer brought up his concerns to administration and asked why there was no change to the contractor, he was told that the city does not monitor contractor performance in a way that affects the bids award process.
“We just put out the work, and whoever gets the low bid gets the work. And so year after year after year if the same contractor is the low bid from our area of town, they’re going to keep getting the work, regardless of the quality of work that’s being done,” he added.
Donauer said it’s imperative to be able to monitor whether the contractors clear the streets and how well they do so, which is why he’s asking for a report back that would address how to do that.
“So we can use a contractor’s past or current performance when we’re awarding future contracts,” he added. “If you’ve done really good work, that would help in your future procurement. And if you’ve done really poor work, then that would hurt in your future procurement.”
Donauer said he also hopes that administration devises a way to refuse a contractor work if their past performance has been sub-standard.
“(So) At least I think we’re making sure everybody’s getting a better quality of service right across the city,” he added.
Bus Riders of Saskatoon’s Robert Clipperton is taking issue with snow clearing near some city bus stops, citing large windrows that can impeded riders’ ability to safely get on and off buses, including this bus stop near Fourth Street and Lorne Avenue. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)
Bus Riders of Saskatoon receives complaints about bus stop access
Robert Clipperton, with the Bus Riders of Saskatoon, told council the group’s social media has been flooded with complaints about access to bus stops, sidewalks, as a result of snow removal or grading concerns.
“Bus stops – we have no idea whose responsibility it is to keep these clear of snow. Most egregious is when the snow plow leaves a large windrow that the rider has to climb over to get on the bus,” he explained.
He cited one bus stop on Lorne Avenue near Fourth Street as an example of where a small area had been cleared for riders so they could get on at the front of the bus. Exiting the rear of the bus however, was a different experience for one rider he observed.
“There was nothing cleared, so he gets to stand on top of a windrow that must have been close to three feet high … if he had been my age, he wouldn’t have been able to do that,” he said.
Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer says he wants all neighbourhoods in Saskatoon to have a comparable level of snow removal quality and service. (Lara Fominoff’650 CKOM)
“Fortunately, he didn’t fall. Because if he did fall, the chances are he would have fallen right under the bus.”
By contrast, he pointed out other areas of the city, like Clarence Avenue between College Drive and Eighth Street, where all of the bus stops were accessible for riders.
“So, either there’s not a standard of how this should be done, or nobody’s monitoring the standard to see it should happen,” he said.
No date was given for administration to report back to city council.
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