Courthouse elevator is operational again

For those who dreaded taking the stairs at the Sequoyah County Court House because the elevator has been out of order for months, the county commissioners were able to provide some good news at their weekly meeting Monday: the elevator is working again … at least temporarily.

As the commissioners considered approval of an agreement between the county and elevator engineering company KONE, District 1 Commissioner Ray Watts reported that engineers were onsite recently, and managed to get the elevator operational.

“[KONE] finally got a part in and got it going. It’s temporary,” Watts said.

Cautioning that he is not a mechanic, Watts reported what he saw during KONE’s work on the elevator.

“That thing’s got a hydraulic reservoir — it’s huge. It’s got a lot of power [equipment] on top of it. It’s got a circuit board mounted to the top side of it. The circuit board’s still good, but everything else has been contaminated because the reservoir has set in water for years, and it’s rusted it. That’s where all the hydraulic fluid is leaking through at,” he said.

“They ordered some rubber mats that are real thick to get it up out of the water. Even though they had a submergible pump in there, if that pump went out, nobody knew that pump was out. That thing sat in water for years, and it is rusty. Having [now] seen it, you know a little more about what you’re talking about. Before, I couldn’t picture what they were talking about. As hard as parts are to get, this thing’s been broke down since fall. It’s been a mess just trying to get a part to get it going, temporary.”

Watts said KONE is “going to replace all that to the tune of $39,960.” He said the cost is more than $42,000 if KONE had to dispose of the hydraulic fluid, but Watts said the county can dispose of the fluid in order to save the county $2,420.

“It’s rusted out and everything’s contaminated that [the] hydraulic fluid’s been running through. We got to have it, as high as it is,” Watts said.

“I sent [the KONE representative] the P.O. last week, which was enough for him to go ahead and get started on getting the part. He felt like he could get that pretty quick, but he didn’t give me no time on how long pretty quick is.”

In other business, the commissioners approved a modification to an agreement for the Blackgum Landing Federal Lands Access Project. According to Monty Proctor with the Eastern Oklahoma Circuit Engineering District, the modification is a line-item change that alters the agreement’s end date for the closeout on the project to July.

The commissioners also approved a utility affidavit for a bridge replacement project on Sallisaw View Drive in District 3. Proctor said the county is ready to execute the affidavit, “and looks forward to the submittal. The plan is to submit before the end of this month.”

A transfer of appropriations was also approved within District 3 from T2 to T6 in order to pay off a debt to a distributor which will “make our county a little bit stronger.”

The commissioners approved the appointments of Thomas Lee and Darren Johnson as receiving agents and Larry Armer and Julie Haywood as purchasing agents, all for Lee Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

During the portion of the meeting set aside for citizens’ remarks, Undersheriff Charles House reported he and Sheriff Larry Lane Jr. recently attended a monthly meeting of the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association.

“We’re very fortunate to have commissioners and elected officials that work well with us,” House said, noting that the meeting contained considerable conflict and complaints about how business was handled in other counties. “It’s crazy. I don’t get it. It’s hard for me to comprehend. We don’t see it.”

House noted that the Johnston County sheriff is reportedly suing county commissioners and filing charges against the county clerk. “I can’t imagine operating under that turmoil. Sometimes we get caught up in the day-to-day, but, man, we’re fortunate.”

District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers responded with appreciation for the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office.

“We appreciate the job you guys do. You guys are mentioned at the state level as often as you are here. You guys are one of the premier operations across the state. We’re thankful for that.”

Watts agreed. “We’re glad to do it, glad to work with you all. It’s a team deal. We appreciate you all.”