Windsor councillors consider cancelling $285,000 purchase of American-made outdoor furniture for city park
The purchase was not brought to council because the spending is covered by a previously approved budget
Windsor city councillors are questioning city staff's recently approved purchase of American-made outdoor furniture for the new public outdoor space in front of city hall, amidst a trade war with the United States.
Staff approved spending $285,957 on seasonal, outdoor metal tables, umbrellas and garbage cans days after council endorsed a call from upper levels of government to prioritize buying Canadian "wherever reasonably feasible both financially and operationally."
The furniture deal was not brought to council for approval because it falls within the $15.4 million project budget council previously approved for the space.
Instead, it was approved by the city's tariff task force, made up of senior administration, who were warned by the suppliers that some of the items could be subject to $71,000 in tariffs when they're imported to Canada.
Coun. Fred Francis said he's heard complaints from taxpayers about the furniture deal and says staff should look at cancelling the purchase depending on any potential financial penalties.
"If there's a way to get out of this purchase, I think they're probably looking at ways to do that and bring it to council. They're probably looking ways to fix this because the PR has been so bad," said Francis, who voted against the civic esplanade project where the furniture will go.
The city's head of infrastructure, David Simpson, said that the tables, umbrellas and garbage cans were bought through Park Street Solutions, an Ontario-based company from which the city has purchased before.
These are sole source purchases — which means the city did not ask for bids from other companies for the project or shop around to see what options were available.
Simpson said that's because staff decided they wanted to continue buying these American-made products through the company because staff are familiar with the products, making them easier to maintain.
He also said that purchasing these products from familiar suppliers would get them installed in a timely manner.
"We already benefited from having that validated Canadian point of contact for procurement logistics and also anything having to do with after purchase services," Simpson previously told CBC News.
"Not only do we feel we can save cost to the taxpayers when it comes to long-term maintenance but it just seemed to be the most time expedient process to acquire the products."
Staff tell councillor American-made furniture is better able to handle the elements
Earlier this week Coun. Kieran McKenzie, who brought the "buy Canadian" motion to council, asked staff if the purchase could be cancelled.
But after meeting with staff on Thursday, he said this purchase is the best option.
"One of the things that they said was that there wasn't a comparable Canadian comparator for the item that they wanted to purchase," said McKenzie.
He said that staff told him the American-made furniture came with an unmatched warranty and unmatched quality.
"It's their ability to withstand the elements outdoors for the next 20 to 25 years," McKenzie said.
"And again a track record with our municipality of it being reliable equipment that's already in a number of our different parks."
He also said that the procurement process started "quite some time" before the trade war with the United States started.
"I think it's fair to say that the optics were unfortunate."
Councillors weighing out the cost of buying Canadian
Council will be briefed by city staff about the potential impact to Windsor's operation because of the trade war, which McKenzie said he hopes leads to shifts in procurement policies.
"But at the end of the day the municipality just isn't going to on a dime change all of its procurement polices when that's going to have a deep and significant impact on project timelines and deliverables."
Downtown councillor Renaldo Agostino is questioning how far the city should go when it comes to sourcing products from Canadian companies instead of their American counterparts.
"I think that the idea of saying, 'listen, it's going to be Canadian or nothing,' that's a very interesting conversation to have because then that means you're going to turn to all your partners in this city that have American connections," said Agostino.
He teased a possible event he's working on with the Detroit Lions as an example of the complex situation Windsor is navigating right now.
"'I'm sorry, guys, we don't want to do an event here in Windsor, no drone show this year because we're not gonna do any business with Detroit.' That's ludicrous, right?" asked Agostino.
But Francis said this is getting confusing for taxpayers, who have watched Canada's relationship with the United States influence decisions council has already made.
He circled back to the debate over ending the city's tunnel bus service, which connected Windsor and Detroit.
That service will end later this year, in part, because Mayor Drew Dilkens said he did not want to subsidize a public transit service that brings business to the United States during the trade war.
"What you heard from some of the people around the council table was, we feel uncomfortable supporting a service that helps to bring more revenue and more tourists and more support to the American economy," said Francis.
He said that has people confused about the city's stance on its relationship with the United States.
"You turn around here and you're purchasing something from an American company supporting American workers in in the American economy."
Company Windsor is buying items through is based in Ontario
The city is purchasing these items through Park Street Solutions, a three-person company based out of Waterloo, Ont., that does not manufacture the products the company sells.
"We work with various manufacturers from across North America and market and sell their products within the Canadian market," said company president Kevin Bettridge.
He declined to answer questions about the financial details of the deal with the City of Windsor, but said the company has deals with the city going back to when the company was incorporated in 2013.
"We've had a very long standing relationship with the City of Windsor, being a standard supplier since before Park Street Solutions was in existence. Victor Stanley has been a standard supplier in the city, has used these products successfully for many, many years," said Bettridge.
He defended the city's purchase.
"I would say that they're making a measured and calculated decision to buy high quality products that they know and trust," he said.
"At the end of the day, Park Street Solutions is an Ontario-based company. We've built our business around working with these companies and having good relationships with our municipalities and landscape architects and the marketplace in general."
The tables the city bought for the project outside city hall will be the same ones purchased and installed for the recently opened Legacy Beacon project on the riverfront.
Staff initially hoped that the civic esplanade project where the outdoor furniture will be placed would be operating last winter, but now say it will be ready before the end of the year.