Vienna Town Council members agreed Oct. 11 to pay a contractor $48,314 for emergency repair work conducted last month on Town Hall’s elevator.
The Vienna Department of Public Works earlier had used Kone Inc. to install a sump pump and waterproofing in the building’s elevator pit. The work, which the contractor performed Sept. 7, replaced rusted components and addressed a life-safety violation identified by Fairfax County officials during a regular elevator inspection.
County officials ordered the town’s public-works staff to fix the problem immediately or the elevator would need to be shut down. Because the Public Works Department had been working with the contractor to resolve the issue, county officials granted a time extension for the repairs.
Town staff originally intended to replace rusted components and find a permanent “dewatering” solution when the elevator was fully modernized. But when the contractor determined that water would continue to infiltrate the elevator pit and rust the equipment inside, town officials opted to have the permanent dewatering done earlier.
Council member Howard Springsteen said he hopes the contract for the elevator’s major renovation, which will cost about $250,000, will be approved as soon as possible.