Court awards $119,496 HVAC contract for Fiscal Court reception center to lower bidder

Oldham County Fiscal Court voted Feb. 4 to award the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contract for the Fiscal Court reception center to Thompson Heating and Cooling for $119,496.

County staff presented two bids: Alpha Energy at $309,465 and Thompson Heating and Cooling at $119,496. County staff and building-committee representatives said both vendors were reputable and that the lower bid met the county’s minimum performance requirements, though the higher-priced system included additional features and redundancies.

“Both ways will work. Obviously, the higher one’s going to have more fail-safes, but they both will perform,” said Joe Kelly (staff), describing engineering differences between the bids. After committee review, the court moved and approved the Thompson Heating and Cooling bid by voice vote.

Judge David Vogel and several magistrates discussed budget implications; the county manager noted the contract was not included in the current budget and that a transfer or budget amendment would be necessary. “To the extent that the cost is a surprise, the answer is yes,” the manager said. The court recorded no roll-call vote in the public transcript; members voted by voice and the motion carried.

Officials said the selected system will use Mitsubishi mini-split units for portions of the building and additional basement units; staff said the installation will meet airflow standards adopted since the pandemic. Staff estimated the HVAC work should be completed quickly once contracted, and that remaining interior work (handrails, limited painting and audio/video installation) also needed to be finished before the space could be rented.

The court instructed staff to return with a formal contract and noted the purchase will require a budget adjustment.