Jersey City to reject all five bids for courthouse heating and cooling job, from $1.16M to $2.27M, and redo the plans

JERSEY CITY — Jersey City plans to throw out every bid it received to replace the heating and air-conditioning at the Municipal Courthouse, rewrite the job, and advertise it again, according to a resolution on the City Council’s Wednesday, Oct. 21, agenda.

Resolution 26-697 says bids for the Municipal Courthouse HVAC Replacement Project, which covers “the replacement of rooftop HVAC units and mini-split systems,” were opened Aug. 5, 2026. The city received the results Aug. 18. Five contractors bid:

• C. Dougherty & Company — $1,157,000
• TM Brennan Service, Inc. — $1,193,000
• A.J. Celiano, Inc. — $1,268,655
• Pennetta Industrial Automation, Inc. — $1,349,000
• K & D Contractors, LLC — $2,265,000

After reviewing the bids, “the City has determined that the project specifications should be substantially revised and that a qualified professional services contractor should be engaged to prepare a more comprehensive scope of work before the project is re-advertised,” the resolution says. State law (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-13.2(d)) lets a town reject all bids when it wants to substantially revise the specifications.

The resolution does not say what was wrong with the original specifications, how much the consultant will cost, or when the job will be rebid. The fact sheet lists Bernard Herk, general supervisor of trades in the Department of Public Works, as project manager.

Same night, a different HVAC award

The council is also set to award a separate HVAC job, replacing rooftop units at the Pershing Field pool at 201 Central Ave., to Pennetta Industrial Automation for $205,600 (Res. 26-696). The city received five bids for that job, and Pennetta’s was the lowest responsible bid, the resolution says. It’s paid for from a Community Development Block Grant account. Pennetta was the fourth-lowest of the five bidders on the courthouse job.

The city

Hudson TV emailed city spokesperson Kimberly Wallace Scalcione on Saturday, Oct. 17, asking what was wrong with the original specifications and what will change; who will prepare the new scope of work, at what cost, and when the job will be rebid; and whether the courthouse’s current heating and cooling is working. A response will be added if received.

The council meets Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m., according to the agenda.

Hudson TV asks: Should Jersey City pay a consultant and rebid the courthouse job, or should it have taken the $1.16 million low bid? Reply A: Rebid with better plans. Reply B: Take the low bid.
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