Carbon County officials will save $112,000 by completing an elevator modernization project in the aging courthouse during the day. However, the work will cause some disruption within the courts.

Last week, the board of commissioners approved three motions regarding the project, choosing option A, or during business hours from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., for each contract.

Bognet Inc. of Hazle Township was awarded the general construction contract at a bid of $68,777; Billitier Electric of Rochester, New York, was awarded the electrical contract at a cost of $47,500; and Current Elevator Technology Inc. of Milford was awarded the elevator contract of $164,000. The total cost of the project is approximately $280,277.

If the board would have decided on completing the six-week project after business hours, the cost would be $373,288 plus additional costs associated with bringing in two sheriff’s deputies overnight.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said the cost for the deputies for the six-week period would total just under $19,000, making the difference $112,011 for night work.

“The evening work on the elevator is about a 29 percent increase,” Ahner said, pointing out that the county is already looking at about $6.8 million in renovations to the courthouse, which is expected to take between 10 months and a year.

If the county paid the additional cost for night work to not disturb the courts, that could set a precedent and inflate the cost for renovations to upward of $9.5 million.

He said that the county asked for the two options for work schedules so that construction wouldn’t disrupt the courts, but he couldn’t see spending that much more for the night work.

“We don’t want to disrupt the court, but there are projects within this, within that six weeks, that they’re working in the basement and we’re going to wind up unlike any other project, they’re going to say we need overtime at night to finish this up and convert things over,” Ahner said.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said he spoke with President Judge Roger Nanovic about the options and what the commissioners were thinking of doing.

He said maybe they could suggest construction crews come in at 7 a.m., two hours before court sessions start or make adjustments in scheduling.

“I think for the most part, it’s well worth the risk of or the inconvenience of saving that amount of money for this project,” Nothstein said.

“We would love to do it at night … but it winds up $111,000 is a lot of money to spend extra,” Ahner said.

Carbon County has received $138,494.32 in state grant funds toward the project, which was created as a result of the closure of SCI Retreat and the White Haven Center.

The main elevator in the 1894 courthouse is aging and has been the main access for courtrooms 1 and 2, as well as the basement for decades.

In 2014, it broke down and costs to repair it came in at $22,684.

Recently, the county noted that parts for the aging elevator have become harder to find.

The county hopes to begin work on the elevator project in October.