Jail floor looks good after fourth try

MARENGO — The jail floor was resurfaced a fourth time, and this time it might be right.

Iowa County Supervisor Jonathan Degan told the Board of Supervisors last week that the county met with the contractor and decided to have the floor redone again. “And it looks really, really good,” he said.

The speckling in the floor was supposed to be an upgrade paid for by the supervisors, but with all the problems they’ve had with the quality of the job, they won’t be paying for it.

“They didn’t make any money on this one,” Board Chairman Kevin Heitshusen said of the contractors.

The jail kitchen is expected to be completed and cleaned this week. Equipment will be installed the first week of October.

Landfill

Supervisor Alan Schumacher said a landfill expansion will cost the county $1.5 million. He suggested closing the landfill and setting up a transfer station instead.

Ten thousand tons of waste and the cost to truck would be about $600,000 a year, Schumacher said, about the same as the revenue from the landfill.

The county could ship its waste to Milan, Illinois for $16 a ton. The county would have about 450 loads a year.

“We’re going to continue looking at that,” said Schumacher said.

Linn County will close its landfill in Marion in 2044, Schumacher said.

Iowa Offset

Adam Rabe, Iowa County ambulance director, told Supervisors last week that he may need supervisors to approve an ordinance giving the county authority to charge for ambulance services.

Iowa Offset Program collects unpaid bills due to government agencies by taking state tax refunds and lottery winnings of people who haven’t paid, he said.

The service recently changed hands, and the new administration agency requested proof of legal authority to charge for ambulance service.

Iowa Offset recovers $15,000-$20,000 a year in nonpaid charges for Iowa County’s ambulance, Rabe said. “I’d like to keep on using it. I’d like to keep it going.

“It was so simple when it was under the Department of Administrative Services,” Rabe said. The ambulance service could use different collection agencies but they wouldn’t be able to take income tax refunds, he said.

Johnson County uses Iowa Offset, which is how Rabe heard about it in the first place, he said. But Johnson County may have an ordinance authorizing billing.

First responders

Three new first responders recently joined the county’s emergency services team, said Rabe. About 40 now serve the county. Most communities have about six. Overall, they respond to about 82% of emergency calls.

Ladora has only two, Rabe said, but it’s pretty close to Marengo, and an ambulance can get there quickly.

Rabe can’t see the future for county first responders, however. “Today we’re OK,” said Rabe. “But tomorrow we could have five retire.”

Iowa County Supervisor Alan Schumacher encouraged Rabe to keep recruiting. “Keep planting seeds in those high schools,” he said.