The NDP official Opposition has raised concerns that the government sole-sourced a contract related to the F.H. Collins Secondary School replacement project after the premier committed earlier this year to go to tender.

But as Cynthia Tucker, the assistant deputy minister of the property management division in the Department of Highways and Public Works, explains it, the department made the best decision for moving forward.

The contract was for a "bridging consultant,” a company to work as a go-between with the government, as the owner of the new school, and whatever company is contracted to build it.

The construction contract is still set to go out for tender in the fall.

The bridging consultant "takes what we want to achieve and translates that into language that the construction industry and the architectural industry can interpret to build the project that we want,” Tucker explained last Thursday.

"They basically act as the bridge between us as the owner and the contractor and designer in the delivery in the project.”

The contract was sole-sourced to Barr Ryder, an Alberta architectural firm, and the original architect of the campus-style school the department selected as the base design for the new complex.

As the bridging consultant, Barr Ryder will ensure the standards outlined in the request for proposals are met, said Tucker.

They will also provide the government advice regarding any requested change orders, and on other issues that may arise.

Barr Ryder has also worked as a bridging consultant on several of the schools built for the Alberta government, Tucker said.

She underscored the company's expertise not only with the original design of the school, but with its evolution as adjustments have been made with each new iteration.

"The selection of Barr Ryder really is an operational decision; it is within the authority of the department, within the authority of property management to make decisions of this type,” said Tucker.

"We feel that we've selected the best possible solution at this point, the best possible architectural consultant at this point, to help us prepare for the tender.”

The Barr Ryder contract is for up to $900,000 over three years.

That's outside the $38-million budget estimate set for the school construction.

The company will work with the government developing the request for proposals, throughout the construction phase of the new high school and into the warranty and operations phase.

As the bridging consultant, Barr Ryder will be excluded from bidding on the design construction contract tendered in the fall to avoid conflict of interest or an unfair competitive advantage.

In a release issued last week, the NDP highlighted comments Premier Darrell Pasloski made in the legislature after he was asked if the government was heading down a sole-source path regarding the new school.

"...this government will go to tender on this project as we do, and we expect to get competitive bids and we expect to move forward,” he'd said.

"The Yukon Party's mismanagement of the F.H. Collins project has become legendary,” the NDP said.

"The new school was once slated to be opened in 2013, and featured prominently in the Yukon Party's 2011 election campaign. Over $5.4 million has been spent so far on F.H. Collins – including over $3 million on design work that has been rejected with Yukoners picking up the tab for the government's poor planning.”