The Effingham County Board authorized a contingency payment to repair an inoperable elevator door operator in the Quartz Building after the county’s sheriff recommended repairing the single broken unit rather than replacing all door openers immediately.

Sheriff (name not specified in the transcript) told the board that one Otis elevator door operator is broken, the part is obsolete and a single repair was quoted at $30,909.96; a full replacement of all door openers on the Otis elevators was quoted at $122,996. He recommended repairing the broken unit now because the other units remain operational and the front public elevators provide redundancy.

Norbert Saltwheedle moved to authorize an expenditure of $30,009.96 for repair of the nonoperating door (as recorded in the motion), seconded by Doug McCain. Board members agreed to use contingency funds from Building and Grounds to pay the expense; the motion carried by roll call vote. The recorded roll-call sequence included yes votes from Doug McCain, Sandy Rich, Jeremy Daters, Norbert Saltwheedle, Tim Ellis, Dave Campbell, Chris Keller and Mike Buzzard.

Transcript notes show two different dollar amounts were discussed: the repair quote reported by the sheriff was $30,909.96, while the motion as entered and adopted referenced $30,009.96. The board identified contingency funds as the source for the approved expenditure.

The sheriff said the door-opener part is obsolete and expensive and that replacing only the failed unit would restore service without immediate need to replace other door openers. The sheriff also warned that Otis service staff noted that when one operator fails it may indicate others will fail over time, but he recommended a staged approach to replacements.

The board instructed staff to proceed with the approved repair using contingency funding. No further procurement details, vendor names beyond "Otis," or expected completion dates were provided in the meeting record.

Votes and next steps: the board approved payment from contingency funds; staff will coordinate scheduling and payment with Building and Grounds and the sheriff’s office per the county's normal procurement and payment processes.