Officials press for repair after year of courthouse elevator outages that limit access

Circuit Clerk Gail Compton told the Claiborne County Board on March 16 that the courthouse elevator has been unreliable for roughly a year and is causing operational and accessibility problems across offices located on the second and third floors. “We have been patient … but that was a last minute thing because their room's not being used,” Compton said, describing instances when staff and jurors had to be accommodated on short notice.

District Attorney Daniela Shorter said the outages have affected grand-jury quorum and posed physical burdens for jurors and staff. “The last time we had grand jury here … one gentleman had a brace and a cane. There was no way that he could come 3 flights of stairs … to participate in grand jury,” Shorter said, adding the lack of a working elevator requires staff to ferry heavy case materials up and down steep, 19th‑century stairs.

Shorter and Compton also raised security and election concerns, saying absentee-voting procedures that require clerks to transport ballots up multiple flights can undermine voters’ confidence that ballots are properly deposited. Compton said election commissioners have been relocated temporarily to emergency management because of access problems.

County Administrator Mr. Ross told the board the county is under contract for a replacement part. “You are actually under contract at this point for the replacement part, which is currently being built,” Ross said, adding the component is custom-built and that installers took final measurements recently. He said the vendor has not provided a firm installation date.

Supervisors discussed options including repairing the existing unit, ordering a custom replacement, or relocating functions temporarily; one supervisor offered to move the repair process forward. The board instructed staff to continue pursuing a prompt fix or an interim accommodation for mobility-limited jurors and staff.

The board framed the problem as both an accessibility and liability issue, and asked county administration to provide an updated timeline from the elevator contractor. No final payment or replacement authorization was recorded at the meeting; the county attorney was asked to advise on next steps.