Carbon County officials want residents scheduled to appeal their taxes later this month to know there is a change in venue because of an inoperable elevator in the administration building.

On Thursday, the commissioners approved an agreement with PenTeleData for broadband internet service at 525 Iron St., Lehighton, for one month at a fee of $101.14, plus a non-recurring setup fee of $237.95. The reason is to hold tax appeals at the site while the elevator is being repaired in the administration building.

Tax appeal hearings normally were held on the third floor of the administration building in Jim Thorpe.w

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said that there are more than 200 people appealing their taxes during the next session and because of the elevator being down, those people would need to walk up the stairs. In the event they couldn’t walk up stairs because of a disability, there could be an issue getting them up to the appeals meeting room.

To resolve this, the county decided to use the building that will be renovated for the Children and Youth Services department because it is handicapped accessible.

The appeals are expected to take place between Oct. 11 and Oct. 30, with renovations to the building starting in early November.

“We don’t want anyone to be confused about where they’re supposed to be for the tax appeals,” Ahner said.

County Administrator Eloise Ahner said that all taxpayers on the appeals list have been sent out letters with the location change.