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Ridgewood council rejects bids for Cedar Hill PFAS treatment facility, orders rebid
Summary
At a special public meeting Sept. 3, the Ridgewood Village Council voted unanimously to reject bids for the Cedar Hill PFAS treatment facility after the low bidder withdrew and the next bid landed well above the engineer's estimate. Staff will re‑advertise the project with a new bid opening set for Oct. 9.
The Ridgewood Village Council on Sept. 3 voted to reject the bids for the Cedar Hill PFAS treatment facility after staff discovered the lowest bidder had withdrawn and the next low bid exceeded the engineer's estimate by roughly 17 percent.
Village Manager Keith reported that four bids were opened on Aug. 14; the low bidder withdrew citing errors and the next lowest bid was about $14.2 million compared with an engineer's estimate of $12.1 million. Because the next bid was substantially higher than the estimate, staff recommended rejecting all bids and rebidding the job. Council members agreed and the rejection passed on a roll call vote (Mortimer, Perrin, Weitz and Winograd voted yes; the mayor was absent).
The council approved sending the advertisement for a rebid to the legal notice the following day; staff said the next bid opening will be scheduled for Oct. 9. Officials described the Cedar Hill contract as the final PFAS treatment facility bid remaining in the village's consent order schedule with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and said rebidding is intended to produce a compliant contract while keeping the project schedule.
No motion author or second was recorded in the public minutes. The council resolved to reconvene the work session after the special meeting.
Why it matters: The Cedar Hill facility is part of Ridgewood Water's PFAS remediation build‑out. Delays or contract award failures can affect the village's compliance schedule with NJDEP consent requirements and the timeline for bringing the last treatment plant online.
