After several recent incidents of people getting stuck in the Tier Garage elevator, the decision has been made to remove the unit from service over the next couple of bitterly cold days.
Butler City Parking Manager Jimmy Chiprean:
“We’ve had some difficulty with the cart the last couple of months. It shows signs that it wants to stick between the second and third floor. We’ve rectified it by calling our maintenance people at Otis Elevator and they keep saying the elevator is fine but we’ve got it now maintained that the cart should be operational.”
Chiprean maintains that the elevator has been very reliable over the past 43 years and a heating unit was installed last year to help the oil in the outdoor unit function properly.
The city has a maintenance contract with the Otis Elevator company to provide service on a regular basis as well as when necessary due to equipment failure. Chiprean spent time with a maintenance employee Tuesday investigating the safety of the elevator.
“He was here yesterday. I was with him for a couple of hours on the facility and I rode the elevator one through five, not a problem. Safety is our number one importance in parking. We try to keep our properties as safe as possible.”
Elevator maintenance is included with the yearly city budget and an Otis employee will be returning when the temperature warms up in a few days to ensure the unit is fit for use.
