Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the main staircase and elevator as work on replacing tile flooring continues at the Bartholomew County Public Library in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
The Bartholomew County Public Library has selected a contractor to replace the elevator at its Columbus branch, but it is likely to be several months before the project is complete.
The library’s board of trustees voted Monday to approve a $119,900 bid from the Oracle Elevator Company for the work.
The elevator stopped working on March 24. Library Director Jason Hatton said that there was a specific part of the device that failed, and the elevator technician was initially unable to find a replacement. However, the technician has since found this part, albeit used, and the elevator is working again.
However, Hatton said that while it is safe to use, staff are somewhat wary, and he doesn’t necessarily want to encourage patrons to use it. Therefore, the library will continue the amended operations plans it put in place when the elevator initially failed, such as closing off meeting rooms on the lower level and shifting library events to the main level.
“Can it fail with someone on it, where you cannot extricate them?” asked board president Gary Gron.
Hatton said this had been an issue with the elevator a couple weeks prior to its failure. While the technician was able to get it restarted, the elevator had been stopping between floors.
“I don’t feel 100% comfortable opening the doors and saying everybody can come in and use it,” he said.
At the moment, staff and contractors for the flooring project are using the elevator, but mainly as a way to transport books and other materials rather than passengers.
Prior to approving Oracle’s proposal at the recommendation of Hatton, the board voted to declare an emergency in order to bypass normal bidding procedures.
“It’s very likely that someone using the elevator is disabled,” said Gron. “And if the elevator is unreliable, how are you going to get a disabled person out of the elevator? For me, that’s an emergency. How would you like your invalid grandmother stuck in the elevator?”
Oracle was one of five companies that the library contacted for quotes, said Hatton. According to its website, Oracle’s services include elevator repairs, maintenance and modernization. The company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and has several locations in the United States, including Indianapolis.
The library also received a bid of $130,000 from KONE and a $138,299.09 bid from TK Elevators, its current elevator service company. Two of the companies they reached out to did not respond. All three respondents gave an estimated lead time of six months.
Additionally, there is certain prep work that none of these companies would cover, including updating the elevator for code compliance.
“We will have to update everything done on our elevator to code,” said Hatton. “Now there’s a possibility that they will grandfather some of those things in, but we have a responsibility to pay for it and make that happen — fire suppression systems, possible HVAC, possible, right now there’s a wire cage around the elevator room. There’s a possibility that will have to be cared for.”
This part of the project is estimated to cost $20,000 to $40,000, depending on what work is needed.
The current elevator is original to the building, which opened in 1969, according to library records.
“It has held its own for a good 50-plus years now,” said Hatton. “So it has served us well. It’s had many trips up and down, up and down, up and down. But it does not want to go up and down anymore.”
The elevator issue restricts the library’s ability to offer ADA-complaint access to the building’s lower level and mezzanine. As a result, all meeting rooms, including the Red Room and Conference Room, are closed entirely.
Staff are also rearranging sections of the building’s main level to accommodate most of the library’s internal programming, and some events will be shifted to a “community partner location” nearby. The former Indiana Room, now known as the Main Level Meeting Room, will be a central location for many library programs and was where Monday’s board meeting was held. Staff are also looking into options for creating sheltered, accessible spaces on the outdoor plaza.
The main staircase will remain open from the main floor to the lower level until flooring work begins on those steps, which is expected to occur on April 17, according to Hatton. At that time, patrons will need to use outdoor entrances to access the building’s different levels.
The library has placed an accessible porta-john outside the building for restroom access.
