Journal Express
KNOXVILLE —
The Marion County Board of Supervisors may have much more than just an inspection performed on the courthouse elevator.
The supervisors held lengthy discussions with two elevator service providers at a special meeting Wednesday morning. No action was taken beyond asking a state official to inspect the courthouse elevator to assess what should be done to bring it into compliance with state and federal laws.
While the inspection is required, the county is also considering replacement of the elevator's cylinder, expansion to an additional floor and a new elevator cab. The cylinder is a 40-foot piece of steel that moves the elevator up and down. The elevator still has the original, 35-year-old cylinder, which is in compliance with current laws.
The supervisors met first with a representative from Otis Elevator. Otis is the company that installed the elevator in 1977. Craig Clybaugh, the representative from Otis, gave the board a preliminary bid of $54,000 for work, not including replacement of the elevator's cylinder.
Otis' bid to replace the cylinder is an additional $35,000. Total cost if all Otis has proposed would be $90,200.
Clybaugh said he did not think his company could start the project before Jan. 1. The proposed work, without cylinder replacement, would take Otis three weeks. If the cylinder is replaced, an additional two to three weeks would be needed.
The other elevator company, Schumacher, believes it can complete all of the work in approximately four weeks. Schumacher's tentative bid is $59,157, with four options that include cylinder replacement ($29,500); a new cab ($15,000); adding another floor to the elevator's route ($26,000). If all of these options were exercised, the cost would be $130,000.
A decision regarding which repairs to make to the elevator will be made based upon recommendations of the state inspector. Firm bids for those repairs will be sought at that time.
