The Greene County Courthouse will soon have a new elevator.
The Greene Prairie Press reports that the Greene County Board approved spending up to $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to replace the current obsolete elevator at their February monthly meeting.
Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen updated the board with the state bid for replacement of the elevator at just under $156,000. Due to the age of the elevator, McMillen said that other subsequent work would have to be sub-contracted out by the county to get the new elevator installed to fall into state code compliance.
McMillen told the board that new GFI electric outlets would have to be installed in the pit area of the elevator on the courthouse’s west side. Other work would include the installation of a fire rated door, replacement of a sump pump, and having the courthouse’s fire alarm system connected to the new elevator.
McMillen said that when the courthouse’s fire alarm system was updated last year, they had already made preparations for the update to the elevator, so that update will come at a minimal cost.
The new elevator is expected to take 5 ½ weeks to install. During that down time, county officials will have to figure out a way to accommodate people with disabilities who need to go to the court rooms on the upper floor of the courthouse. McMillen said that a ramp may be built to allow for those with disabilities to enter the first floor of the courthouse to attend their court dates via video conference.
More information on the timeline of the project is expected in the coming weeks.