County buys new elevator phone

MARENGO — After being out of commission for a month, the elevator in the Iowa County Courthouse in Marengo is up and running.

But the State of Iowa will shut it down again if the county doesn’t get a working phone installed.

Dylan Healey, the county’s building maintenance director, told county supervisors last week that when the county switched to IP phones, the phone in the elevator was not added to the system and therefore does not work.

Rather than spend tens of thousands on an IP phone for the elevator, Healey is getting a WiFi phone for $4,500. It’s ordered and on the way, Healthy said.

The county has 30 days to get a working phone in the elevator before the state shuts it down, Healey said.

“It’s just a one-time cost,” said Healey. The phone will have one button that will call dispatch in case of emergency.

Healey also asked supervisors to let him take a county truck home with him. Healey is on call during nonwork hours and, because he lived in Norway, he had to drive through Marengo to get to county properties and could pick up a county truck.

“Usually when I do get called out it’s for the jail,” said Healey.

Now that Healey is going to be living in Williamsburg, he’d rather not have to drive to Marengo to get a truck and then drive back to county properties.

Healey said he understands the responsibility of taking the truck home. He will drive the truck straight home and not use it for anything but county business.

“It’s a privilege.,” Supervisor Chris Montross told Healey. Everyone will be watching him, the supervisors said.

It’s a benefit to the county too, said Supervisor Jon Degen. It’ll make the county more efficient.

Supervisor Abby Maas voted no to the proposal. “Nothing against, you, Dylan” she said. She’s dealt with this before and it didn’t go well.

Supervisors told Dylan to talk to Nick about getting GPS on the truck. Seth Meyer said it will protect Healey against accusations as well as protecting the county in the case of misuse of the vehicle.

Degen, Montross, Meyer and Supervisor Kevin Heitshusen voted to let Healey take a vehicle home.