At the Management Services Committee meeting Sept. 3, facilities staff reported a hydraulic leak in the courthouse elevator that has taken the elevator out of service while the vendor schedules a multi-person repair. Staff said Otis measured the problem and is arranging the parts and crew; in the meantime, building users have been asked to use stairs.

The report — delivered by Chris Drake, a facilities staff member — said the leak was discovered when hydraulic fluid overflowed into the elevator’s mechanical pan. "It's been a money pit over the years," Drake said, adding that the county had previously replaced the elevator’s hydraulic shaft and paid for a service contract with Otis.

Why it matters: the elevator outage affects courthouse access and could incur repair costs that were not yet known. Drake said some callouts under the service contract are covered when work takes under two hours but that larger repairs would involve parts and labor charges. "They're keeping me informed," he said of the vendor's communications.

Committee members asked whether parts were delayed or whether the vendor was scheduling the crew; Drake said the job requires draining the hydraulic system and bringing a replacement drum and multiple technicians, and that Otis had to coordinate availability across service calls.

Drake also summarized other facilities work completed or planned: concrete patching on front and rear courthouse stairs and the east jail stairs, application of an elastomeric coating and repainting of railings, repair and repainting of an exterior World War I memorial sign, parking-lot striping, and ordering filters and belts for shop vehicles. He said routine seasonal work — servicing seven heating boilers and the jail's domestic hot water boiler — is scheduled for late September into October and will require a one-day hot-water shutdown.

Drake noted smaller repairs that will be addressed after the meeting, including a leaking toilet in the women's restroom. He said he had ordered salt and parts for winter equipment and planned service for trucks, a bobcat, forklifts and snowblowers.

The maintenance report did not include an estimated final repair cost for the elevator; Drake said he would gather the vendor paperwork and share cost details when available.