Scott County officials told the fiscal court that TP Mechanical submitted the low bid for a courthouse HVAC, chiller and fan coil replacement project and recommended contracting with the firm for the base scope and two alternates.

Brad Nation of the engineering firm Shrode Tate Wilson told the court the base bid — including full replacement of the chiller and multiple fan‑coil units — was the low bidder at about $999,000, with an alternate for replacing four circulation pumps priced separately. "Those pumps are end of life as well," Nation said of the alternate. "It seems like a great opportunity to do it while this project is happening."

Nation described the project as largely an equipment and controls replacement rather than a system redesign and proposed a 150‑day schedule after contract award, contingent on material lead times and coordination with other on‑site work. He said TP Mechanical has local references and experience on technical projects and that the engineering team had verified their qualifications.

Courtroom lighting and exterior tower lighting were bid as separate alternates. County staff recommended proceeding with the interior courtroom LED lighting but said they wanted to delay the exterior tower lighting pending cost review.

Why it matters: The county’s courthouse has multiple aging fan‑coil units and a chiller the court said was not maintaining temperatures and humidity controls, contributing to comfort and operations problems in summer months. Officials said coordinated replacement now would reduce long‑term maintenance disruptions.

Next steps: Staff said they would place the TP Mechanical contract, including alternate #1 (pumps) and alternate #2 (courtroom lighting), on the next business meeting agenda for court consideration and asked county counsel to review the contract before execution. No formal vote was taken at the work session; the court indicated agreement to consider the contract at the special called meeting next Friday.