OFFICIALS SAY it will take more than $30,000 to repair the courthouse elevator.
The sole elevator in the Grady County Courthouse remains inoperable this week and officials say it could be up to two months before it is back in operation. The elevator has been out of commission since Nov. 13.
Grady County Administrator J.C. (Buddy) Johnson III, updated the board of commissioners on the elevator situation during their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
Previously, a bid of $32,400 from Albany Elevator Services had been received, but the county solicited additional bids. A second bid of $62,000 was rejected, according to Johnson.
“We had hoped it might have been an issue with the top seal instead of the bottom and repairs might have been simpler and more economical, but that is not the case. The whole thing has to come out and it’s not an easy project,” Johnson said.
County officials and officers of the court are working to make sure accommodations are made for all who cannot navigate the stairs to the upper floors of the courthouse.
Johnson said that considering the age of the elevator, which was installed when the new courthouse was constructed, he had researched prices for a completely new elevator, but that cost was between $100,000 and $150,000, which is cost prohibitive to the county.
