After 35 years, high school elevator will be replaced

The borough is moving forward with a much-needed elevator project at the high school.

After researching options, it was determined that the entire elevator needs to be replaced rather than repaired. School district staff hopes that, if all goes smoothly, the project will be finished by the start of the 2022/2023 school year.

Josh Blatchley, head of the school district maintenance department, said an oil leak was discovered at the bottom of the elevator's hydraulic ram in March of 2020. Any research into fixing it was put on hold because COVID-19 hit and other items became a priority.

Blatchley said they sought input from different companies as soon as possible.

"The options were completely different," he said. "One was repair what is there, the other was replace completely, and there was a cost difference that was significant."

To repair the leak, the hydraulic ram would need to be accessed, which is no easy feat since it is 30 feet below the bottom of the basement floor. "In order to pull the old one out and put a new one in, there were just too many unknowns," Blatchley said.

It was decided that replacing the entire system would be necessary. At around the same time, Blatchley said the company that installed the elevator in 1987 contacted him and let him know the control system was no longer supported, so the repair option was "a moot point." The lifespan of the school's model of elevator is around 25 to 30 years. It's now 35 years old.

The borough will oversee the project since it owns the school buildings and large fixes are its responsibility. Money was originally set aside for the job, and the borough works with the district on capital projects. The borough is working toward getting the job out for bid.

"Project funding in the amount of $210,000 was allocated from the borough's Secure Rural School Fund reserves (federal funds)," said Amber Al-Haddad, capital facilities director for Wrangell. "We projected this would cover the costs for all construction, including the elevator replacement unit, complete with controls, and the associated electrical, mechanical and architectural work."

Blatchley said it won't be an easy rebuild.

"A couple of the problems is that it's located in the middle of the school, so there is no exterior access nearby to get in or out," he said. "If you're down in the bottom ... that's where you disassemble the old elevator. You've got to walk up three flights of stairs, maybe four carrying all those discarded (elevator) car parts to get it out of the building."

As for being ADA compliant, Blatchley said that there hasn't been anyone with disabilities that have needed the elevator.

"We've had a couple of kids with sprained ankles that have had to navigate the stairs, but we've been fortunate," he said. There are ramps and access points on both upper floors of the school, but it requires a detour outside.

Along with the elevator, the project will include electrical, sprinkler system and carpentry work.