People say that the wheels of justice turn slowly, but the wheels of justice have nothing, in terms of slowness, on the elevators in the two Guilford County courthouses.

Slow county elevators – including ones like the elevator in the Old Guilford County Court House in Greensboro – have been a common problem in Guilford County government buildings for years. However, in recent weeks, the elevators, especially in the Guilford County Courthouse in Greensboro, have been a source of tremendous frustration.

At times in June, only one elevator in the Courthouse in Greensboro was working – which meant that that one elevator took a very long time to call and ride.  Not to mention that it was usually very crowded.

This week, the county is putting out request for bids to help address the problems for the elevators used by judicial employees, attorneys, police officers, jurors, criminals, court reporters and others alike.

In many cases, those who are unaware of the problem wait for a long time before finally just deciding to use the stairs, while many who work in the courthouse – and are intimately aware of the problems – just automatically head straight for the stairs.

On Tuesday, July 25, at 10 a.m. the county is holding a zoom meeting to prepare for requests for bids regarding the elevators in the courthouses.

Over the last decade and a half, the county has poured money year after year into the Human Services building in High Point, and, in the past five years, the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro got a total renovation and a massive cleaning.  The work was done to prepare the building for a giant, 100-year birthday party that was planned for 2020 – however, COVID happened and the party never did.

On Wednesday, July 26, at 2 p.m. there will be a walk through bid meetings of the two courthouses with a senior project manager from the Guilford County Facilities Department.

Bidding documents, drawing, and specifications are available for viewing on Guilford County’s Vendor Self Service automated bidding system at:  https://guilfordcountync.munisselfservice.com.

Respondents  or  their  sub-contractors have to be  licensed in North Carolina and participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses is encouraged.