Boscawen board weighs tens of thousands in elevator repairs, discusses full retrofit option

Gary, a select board trustee, briefed the meeting on the town-hall elevator’s condition and presented competing repair paths that could affect town capital reserves.

Gary said the elevator, installed in March 2003, is now 23 years old and that some components are obsolete. He described one vendor estimate for a routine oil change and removal at about $12,500 plus $2,500 for disposal, and said parts purchased and installed separately could total roughly $77,000 (and have since risen). "This is called the hydroenhancer. This is the motherboard of the elevator," Gary said, describing the proprietary part that vendors call a hydroenhancer. He added that if purchased piecemeal the town could pay "$85,000" or more now, but that a bundled purchase previously would have been cheaper.

Gary said an alternative quoted by Pine State Elevator would replace proprietary controls with generic components and carry an estimated price of about $126,000. He told the board that Otis, the original vendor, treats many components as proprietary: "They can name whatever price they want and we have to pay the price," he said, noting the tradeoff between lower immediate cost and longer-term vendor lock-in.

Board members pressed on repair timing and financing. One member noted an emergency failure would likely require a weeks-long outage and added that town meetings and some services might need relocation while work is done. Trustees discussed strategies to reduce cost, including buying spare control boards to have parts on hand and asking vendors whether parts could be held "on standby" to reduce labor-call expenses. Staff confirmed the town has a capital reserve but recent transfers for other projects have reduced its balance; members warned a large one-time expenditure could significantly deplete that fund.

No formal motion was made to commit funds at the meeting. Trustees directed staff to gather clearer cost-breakdowns, check warranty/service records for prior work and last oil-change dates, and to return with a recommendation and updated capital-reserve balances. The board discussed timing the work with a holiday to limit disruption if a planned repair is undertaken.