CAPE MAY – During a Sept. 3 special meeting of Cape May City Council, six bids for the construction of a new firehouse were rejected. The bids ranged from $4.9 million to $6.7 million.
After the bidding, the low bidder withdrew, and the next lowest bidder failed to include all the required documents. All other bids were in excess of the city’s cost estimate for the job. The city elected to rebid the construction of the building.
In November 2020, voters approved a bond ordinance referendum for a $5 million firehouse. The issue was hotly debated.
A second referendum urged the construction of a new combined public safety building for police and fire at an estimated $15 million. The debate was a divisive one that played heavily in the campaign for seats on the governing body.
The timing made the project more vulnerable to higher bids. The impact of the pandemic on the nation’s supply chains produced a significant rise in the cost of building materials, one of the factors making this a difficult time to solicit construction bids.
