PORTSMOUTH- Anyone who has been to the Scioto County courthouse lately knows one thing. One very urgent thing that makes almost everyone’s life and work more difficult there.

The elevator is out. And there are 85 marble steps to climb to the third floor where the Scioto County Commissioners meet.

“Eighty-five. I counted them,” said Commissioner Cathy Coleman.

The commissioners have declared the issue an emergency and awarded a bid to OTIS to repair the elevator, which is also the inspector of record.

“When we have emergencies, we have to take action,” said Commissioner Scottie Powell “We can’t let the public, the courts, the clerks — really everybody — this building serves take a hit because we’re waiting and waiting and waiting. Eventually, we can’t wait any longer.”

There were two competitive bids, but one of the bidders did not meet the qualifications.

“The particular company that bid on this was OTIS,” Powell said. “They are our contract of record. They’re giving us a timeline of three weeks from now. From the time we send the check, three weeks.”

Coleman said she has witnessed residents coming to the courthouse to conduct business and, upon seeing the state of the elevator, simply turning around to leave. The elevator is used by those doing business on the upper floors of the courthouse, including the two Common Pleas courts, the clerk’s legal and titles departments, juvenile and probate court, and the commissioners’ office.

“It has been an inconvenience, especially to our judges and their courts and scheduling,” Coleman said. “We’ll get this taken care of as soon as we can.”

Above and beyond the simple inconvenience, the lack of a working elevator in a multi-story government building could put the county at risk for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We have something we have not done for many many years … we are in an emergency situation with the potential for ADA violation,” said Commission Chair Bryan Davis. “We have been without an elevator for weeks now and we need to get this thing up and running.”

So, for at least three weeks, things are working a little differently at the courthouse.

“We’ve had people doing hearings on the first floor to try to make accomodations and make sure everybody is taken care of,” Davis said.

Reach Lori McNelly at [email protected] or at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1928. © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved