The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), approved a Resolution calling for a Special Election on March 6^th, 2018, with regard to passing an additional bond for the courthouse elevator project. Adair County Auditor Mindy Schaefer told KJAN News the need for a new elevator to replace one that was installed back in the 1980’s, became clear when officials with the State said the elevator does not meet current standards. The State says it will no longer approve the elevator for inspection. Schaefer says when it was installed in the 1980’s it was never intended for commercial use. Some of the current wheelchairs and motor scooters are difficult to maneuver into the elevator.  (Click the PDF for images of the project:   Revised 3D for SHPO

A feasibility study determined a new, bigger elevator cannot be placed inside the courthouse, to it must be attached to it from the outside. She said a Public Hearing was held last May to go out for a bond sale. $600,000 of that bond was designated for a new elevator. Schaefer said the initial feasibility studies placed the price tag for the project at $550,000. She says the County has a statutory limit of $600,000 that it cannot exceed without a special election. The County went ahead and bonded for the $600,000. The bids for the project came in two weeks ago, and were shockingly higher than expected. The lowest bid was $749,000. The highest was $1-million, $25,000. There were five bids in between. Mindy said the $600,000 limit was for the entire project, and did not take into account architects, soil surveys and other factors. The Board stripped everything possible to reduce costs, but the final answer was to ask the public for a bond to help pay for the rest.

The Special Election will ask voters of Adair County “Shall the Board of Supervisors bond for an amount not to exceed $650,000 for the purpose of installing an elevator?” The $650,000 is in addition to the $600,000 the County already has bonded for. That means the project is capped at $1.25-million, but they do not expect to reach that amount, according to Schaefer. The architects came up with a formula to derive from the high and low ends of the bids the $1.25-million figure. Schaefer says the County believes it will come in at under $1-million altogether.