Commissioners authorize up to $5,000 for courthouse elevator repairs; procurement and building-safety concerns flagged

The Bourbon County Board of County Commissioners voted to authorize up to $5,000 for immediate repairs to the courthouse elevator and agreed to pay for the work from the county sales-tax fund designated for courthouse and jail projects.

County staff reported the elevator failed after a temporary fix to its control cards; the vendor, KONE, found the remaining fault is mechanical in the hoist way and said a replacement part and repair work will likely occur next week. David, a county staff member who briefed the commission, said the repair vendor told him the problem is ‘‘in the hoist way’’ and that the control cards previously installed were a temporary measure.

The vote followed a lengthier discussion in which commissioners and staff raised procurement and facility-management issues. A county official urged the commission to seek written quotes, to avoid sole-source contracting and to solicit at least three bids for larger modernization work. That official also recommended…