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Commissioners press facilities for elevator and ADA plan after workshop highlights accessibility risks
Summary
Board members raised concerns about an aging courthouse elevator and building-wide ADA compliance; they asked facilities to get cost options (including an external elevator) and technical input from the elevator maintainer Schindler and to report back at a business meeting.
Bonner County commissioners asked facilities and engineering to prioritize an elevator and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) plan after the county’s facilities workshop highlighted reliability and accessibility risks.
Multiple commissioners warned the courthouse’s existing elevator is aging and that a failure would leave upper floors difficult to access for residents who need ADA accommodations. One commissioner said the elevator “is a big concern for a lot of people” and urged staff to produce firm cost and feasibility information rather than defer the issue.
County facilities and commissioners discussed two broad response options: (1) a full modernization or mechanical replacement of the existing elevator shaft and equipment; or (2) an external elevator addition that would provide at-grade adjacent mechanical space and avoid some of the groundwater and shaft issues the current system presents. Staff noted the county’s high groundwater in the building footprint complicates in-shaft repairs.
Director Storms (technology director) and facilities staff recommended getting a manufacturer or maintainer assessment. One participant said he would “contact the project manager at Schindler and have him give me ... a rough idea” of what the county is facing; commissioners asked that facilities return with at least a rough estimate for bringing the current elevator to standard and a second option for an external, non-enclosed elevator.
Commissioners also raised evacuation and stair-evacuation-device needs: staff reported a device intended for non-ambulatory-floor evacuation exists and facilities would follow up to ensure devices are installed and functioning on all stairways. The board requested that facilities include ADA thresholds and likely code triggers for renovations as part of any concept plan, because the level of renovation can legally trigger broader ADA upgrade requirements and materially change cost estimates.
The board asked facilities to present elevator quotes/options and an ADA compliance update at a future regular business meeting so the county can account for safety, accessibility and potential capital funding needs alongside any department-move concepts.
