Sheriff says communications tower damaged in tornado probably needs rebuilt

During his annual budget proposal presentation to the county board of supervisors, Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater said he eventually expects a new communications tower will be built at Adair County Secondary Roads. When that will happen is unknown at this time.

The present tower, which sits next to the secondary roads yard, was damaged during the May 21 tornado. While the tower is owned by the state, the county has its own communication equipment placed on the tower.

A few years ago, the county made a major investment and transitioned radios for emergency responders to a system called The Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS). It is a statewide radio platform that provides microwave-based radio communications to public safety agencies and others, border to border in the state of Iowa, to improve public safety across the state. Vandewater is a member of a board that advises state officials on the status of the system.

The county’s portion of the cost of repairing the tower is projected to be over $400,000. At this point, Vandewater knows the tower will likely not be rebuilt by the time a budget amendment for this fiscal year’s figures goes to the board in May, so it will be moved to the next year.

“The plan is to put the new tower up right next to the existing one, transfer what can be transferred over [to the new tower] and set the new one up before they deconstruct the other one,” Vandewater said.

The goal of ISICS is to have 95% coverage in the state. Area first-responding agencies have reported that the new system is very beneficial when on mutual aid calls with other departments that are outside the county, or when emergency calls come from remote areas of the county.

Another area Vandewater focused on during his proposal are medical costs for inmates. He said this area of the budget is a moving target, however proposed legislation is aimed at helping law enforcement with that cost. The sheriff’s office has also begun going farther to extradite inmates, meaning travel costs are increased from the past.

The supervisors heard from all of the county department heads and are now in the process of formulating the fiscal year 2025 budget, which is required to be completed by April 30. The county compensation board proposed a 5% salary increase for the supervisors, auditor, recorder, treasurer, attorney and sheriff, with a $12,000 adjustment for the county attorney if she goes full-time.

At a recent meeting, the supervisors authorized County Attorney Melissa Larson to go full-time beginning July 1. Larson countered by asking for a $10,000 adjustment instead of $12,000.

All these numbers are being penciled into the budget for comparison purposes as it is being formulated.