ROYALSTON – The Select Board reviewed options to have the Town Hall elevator, which was rendered inoperable during a series of storms on July 16, back up and running.

The elevator was knocked out when lightning struck Town Hall, and while the building suffered no structural damage, the elevator’s motherboard needs to be replaced. At the board’s meeting on July 30, members Shelby Bronnes and Bill Chapman met to discuss the best way to proceed.

If the elevator isn’t fixed in time for Tuesday’s Special Town Election, voters who normally use it to access the polls on the main floor of Town Hall will have to use a handicapped ramp to get into the building. The elevator provides access to the first and second floors of Town Hall.

Bronnes said a representative from Otis Service & Repair looked at the motherboard and provided the town with two options – $16,137 for a replacement part and $9,806 to refurbish it. Replacing the part would be done in approximately three days, while repairing the motherboard would take 14-21 days.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, we’ll take these expenses on,’ before the insurance company comes out and says, ‘We’re not going to cover that amount,’” said Bronnes.

The town is covered by the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA).

“I don’t think we can do anything until we get the okay from the insurance,” said Chapman. “Insurance rules the world. There’s a reason Hartford, Connecticut, has those big, giant buildings. They look for ways to not pay you. So I think we should have something from them. You have to play by their rules.”

Royalston resident and former Select Board member Gary Winitzer interjected that the town doesn’t need to wait to hear from the insurance provider, referencing a time when a pump station on King Street was repaired by the town and later paid for through insurance.

Winitzer added that grant money in the Council on Aging’s budget could be used to repair the elevator, as the council frequently uses Town Hall for meetings and events. In addition, one of the town’s employees also needs the elevator to access the building. Winitzer suggested that there may be money available in the building maintenance line item of the town’s operating budget.

Chapman reiterated that MIIA should be contacted – then the town would be aware of the options should it decide to proceed.

“I just don’t think it would be wise to spend whatever monies we might have available,” Chapman added.

The board voted to move ahead with contacting the MIIA, with the stipulation that either member could sign a work order to begin repairs if given the go-ahead. Bronnes told the Athol Daily News on Wednesday that the insurance provider had been contacted and an adjuster was to visit the site on Thursday.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@aol.com.