Courthouse's only secure inmate elevator failed inspection; $500,000 fix request pulled for more bids
Who it touches
- Vigo County Courthouse
- inmates transported to court
Tracked in the archive
Facilities director Ricky Hammonds told the council the courthouse's secure elevator — the only way to move inmates between the jail and the courtroom without using the public elevator — is 50 to 60 years old, at the end of its life, and failed its five-year load-test inspection, with the elevator company telling the county not to put more than three people in it at a time until a decision is made.
The commissioners said a full replacement would cost $500,000, and Hammonds put the rebuild timeline at 43 to 49 weeks from start to finish, but the commissioners asked the council to hold the funding request another month so a second contractor can weigh in alongside the current one, after an outside estimate came in above $500,000.
This is the same $500,000 request commissioners said earlier that evening they would bring to the council.
Sources
- Elevator's age and role explained0:31:29 (31 minutes 29 seconds)
- $500,000 request, more estimates wanted0:33:47 (33 minutes 47 seconds)
- Rebuild timeline: 43 to 49 weeks0:34:34 (34 minutes 34 seconds)
- Failed inspection, occupancy limited to 30:35:37 (35 minutes 37 seconds)
- Request withdrawn from next week's agenda0:39:33 (39 minutes 33 seconds)
- Commissioners raised the same request earlier that evening0:18:17 (18 minutes 17 seconds)
Outcome
Withdrawn from next week's agenda at the commissioners' request, to gather more repair estimates
The commissioners asked to withdraw the $500,000 request from next week's agenda to gather more estimates; no funding decision was made.
This summary was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor against the recording and documents linked above. Nothing publishes without a resolvable source.