ASHLAND — Ashland City Council is looking for contractors that will work to update a 30-year-old elevator in the city administrative building.
Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to begin the formal search. The project has been estimated to cost $185,000 and officials expect to use grant funding through the Ohio Department of Development’s Community Development Block Grant program.
Officials first considered the use of CDBG funds to fix the elevator in the city building — which has three floors — in 2021, saying the project could be completed by 2022.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said the city received $150,000 in CDBG funds, but the money is available for use for a two-year period. So in the meantime, the city hired Columbus-base VDA Design Group to engineer the project.
“We’re hoping the $150,000 will cover the whole project,” Miller said. If it doesn’t, however, the city is prepared to spend whatever is left over, using money from the general fund or the capital improvements fund, he said.
The city expects the project to be started sometime in the spring and to be completed by summer.
If, during construction, a city employee or resident needs to use the elevator but cannot, Miller said arrangements can be made.
