# Courthouse's only secure inmate elevator failed inspection; $500,000 fix request pulled for more bids

## What happened
Facilities director Ricky Hammonds told the council the courthouse's secure elevator — the only way to move inmates between the jail and the courtroom without using the public elevator — is 50 to 60 years old, at the end of its life, and failed its five-year load-test inspection, with the elevator company telling the county not to put more than three people in it at a time until a decision is made. The commissioners said a full replacement would cost $500,000, and Hammonds put the rebuild timeline at 43 to 49 weeks from start to finish, but the commissioners asked the council to hold the funding request another month so a second contractor can weigh in alongside the current one, after an outside estimate came in above $500,000. This is the same $500,000 request commissioners said earlier that evening they would bring to the council.

## The outcome
The commissioners asked to withdraw the $500,000 request from next week's agenda to gather more estimates; no funding decision was made.

## Sources
- [Elevator's age and role explained](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAM5SjKj5tE&t=1889)
- [$500,000 request, more estimates wanted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAM5SjKj5tE&t=2027)
- [Rebuild timeline: 43 to 49 weeks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAM5SjKj5tE&t=2074)
- [Failed inspection, occupancy limited to 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAM5SjKj5tE&t=2137)
- [Request withdrawn from next week's agenda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAM5SjKj5tE&t=2373)
- [Commissioners raised the same request earlier that evening](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BttQk1B8mjY&t=1097)

*Also known as: courthouse elevator repair · secure elevator · inmate elevator · courthouse modernization · Vigo County Courthouse elevator*