Wildwood Crest council rejects pier bids, directs redesign to trim $1 million in electrical costs

The Borough of Wildwood Crest voted to reject all bids for the planned fishing pier replacement and expansion and authorized the borough engineer to reevaluate and redesign the project to reduce costs, particularly for electrical work.

Clerk (speaker 2) moved to reject the bids and re-advertise a modified contract; the motion passed on a roll call vote. An agency official (speaker 4) told the council the most significant overage in the bids was the electrical work and described plans to scale back lighting and re-run the bidding process. "We're gonna re advertise the project in 2 weeks, and we're gonna scale back the electric and go back out to bid," the agency official said.

Council members discussed funding and savings estimates. A council speaker indicated roughly "4,000,000" in outside funding had been secured from state and county sources, and the agency official said the redesign aims to capture about $1,000,000 by reducing lighting scope and changing procurement for fixtures. The council also previously authorized a separate contract to furnish lumber and fasteners for the pier; the motion to reject bids concerns the overall replacement/expansion contract and a re-scoped procurement.

The council directed staff to return with revised plans and a new timetable for advertising the modified contract. No final construction contract was awarded at the meeting.