Commission delays vote on justice center HVAC bids

County commissioners will take a little more time to make a decision on selecting the contractor that will install the HVAC system for the Cape Girardeau County Jail.

During the commission's Thursday meeting, engineer Tom Strickland recommended that the county award Langford Mechanical of Jackson the contract. However, the commissioners voted to delay the vote so they could study the bids more closely.

"I need more time to digest this," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said.

This is not the first time commissioners have delayed a vote on the project. In Monday's meeting Strickland said he had only one day to evaluate bids on the project and asked that the commissioners not make a decision on the contractor.

The HVAC system includes a hot water boiler for heating and chillers to provide cooling. Hot and chilled water would be pumped through the building to each of the six air handlers that circulates air for heating and cooling the jail.

Renovations included in the base bid are changing out air handler controllers and adding controls with necessary ducting. This would allow each air handler to use cool air from outside the building instead of having to run chillers during the winter.

Additional features, or alternate bids, include cleaning chiller condensing coils and adding a guard that would prevent damage to the coils, installing four reheating units in areas not being heated properly at all times and adding energy-efficient units for the four jail cell air handling units to reclaim energy from air being exhausted from the building.

Strickland said he recommended Langford Mechanical based on their low bid of $187,360. Associated Sheet Metal and Dutch Enterprises, both of Jackson, were the other bidders.

Strickland said he would be willing to discuss details of the bid further.

"I would expect you to take time on this," Strickland said. "These are a lot of numbers to consider."

Construction is scheduled to begin Sept. 18, with a target completion date of between late December and late January.

In other action, the commission:

• Accepted bids for automated external defibrillators for seven county buildings. Bids received were from the American Red Cross of Southeast Missouri and Marelly Products of St. Louis.
• Approved a recommendation to appoint Dick Kent Withers to the board of park commissioners.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO