By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Mark and Phoebe Davenport asked the Hutchinson City Council on Tuesday if they could help with problems they are having with the elevator at the Leon Place Apartments downtown.
"The number one problem is the controller," Phoebe Davenport said. "It's a very, very old elevator. We were speaking with a guy from the elevator company just the other day and they are trying to give us these Band-Aid fixes to hobble along, basically, but, some of the bigger components really do need to be upgraded, in order for it to not keep on breaking down. Right now, it breaks down after about 15 minutes, so we have a tech come out, he gets it running again and within 15 or 20 minutes it's back down again. When the tenants are stuck in it, we have the Fire Department come out sometimes to let people out, although we're learning how to get them out ourselves, too, with our own staff. The controller, the motor, possibly, but the controller is the bigger ticket item of the two."
The City Council wasn't initially sure how they could help, though they do have the economic opportunity fund that they could potentially use.
"We have a fund that has been used for private interests before," said City Manager Jeff Cantrell. "It would not be out of the ordinary for the city to merge efforts with private to advance a project."
Given that the item wasn't on the agenda and so the council didn't know what was going to be asked, it's not clear whether they would consider some sort of a match, or a loan with favorable terms, or what, but the Davenports just wanted them to know there was a need.
"Our intention today was just to put the idea out there and see if there's any opportunity," Davenport said. "If you need any more information, Jeff, we're most certainly happy to get that information together. Whether the city partners with us on this or not, we're looking for a solution, so we're getting that information for ourselves."
Phoebe Davenport said they knew there was likely going to be an issue with the elevator at some point, but they were hoping to be farther along in the renovation process and have more occupancy of the apartments before having to deal with these major repairs.