A resident of Marshalltown's Odd Fellow Apartments sits in the community room near an air conditioner - even though the window unit is unplugged from the wall.
"It says on it 'Don't touch' ... but since it's been cooler the last couple of days, that's probably why it's not on," said J.W., as he preferred to be called. "Boy, it sure was hot a few days ago though."
On July 30, air conditioning that cools the 65-unit complex malfunctioned, leaving residents, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s, fending for themselves during the warmest month of the year.
And while the past couple of days offered a reprieve from recent dangerous heat, today's temperatures are expected to rise again, and some at the senior housing facility are dreading it.
"I get the sun in my windows from about two o'clock until eight at night and it's terrible," said a second-floor resident. "And we're the only level with washers and dryers, so when those are running, it will get really hot in here."
Marshalltown's Linda Clark, who has friends at the complex, was there Wednesday checking on their welfare, just as she has done several times before.
"I'm only a citizen who has been worried," she said. "But so you know, people at this point are now afraid to give out their names for fear of receiving a hard time because they have to live here."
When the air conditioning faltered, a letter was distributed to residents from on-site management, advising them to stay with family or friends if the heat was affecting them physically - or gather in the community room where a resident had donated the make-shift air conditioner to offer relief.
Various seniors also took matters into their own hands, installing small units into windows, as well as relying on electric fans.
Des Moines' Keyway Management owns the apartments, and CEO Ron Dupuy stated last week they were working with the Red Cross to provide residents with fans until necessary repairs could be made.
However, the Red Cross Iowa Rivers Chapter wasn't alerted to the problem by management, but rather by an employee at the complex, according to volunteer Jim Ramsey, who immediately transported cots to the community room himself.
"I took approximately ten out there for them," he said. "This definitely warrants some follow-up to see what the residents need."
After the Times-Republican continued receiving calls from concerned community members, a stroll was taken on the facility's first three floors and through various apartments with a handheld digital thermostat.
The average temperature Wednesday afternoon was between 80 and 81 degrees which, for many, is tolerable.
But a few have pre-existing medical conditions - some of whom require oxygen - and according to various renters, at least two required a doctor's care within the past couple of weeks. Others have gone as far as Cedar Rapids to stay with relatives until things cool back down.
In the mean time, Marshalltown's Kapaun & Brown Heating and AC Service installed some temporary cooling last Friday of which Keith Brown described as "fair" in terms of capability that will help until the situation is resolved.
One resident said she was told by Brown that the air conditioning wouldn't be back to normal until the second week of September.
"He said they wouldn't get the part until that time, and then it would probably take a week to get it going," she said.
Brown said Wednesday a brand new unit has been ordered and is on their priority list to get it working as soon as possible.
"The chiller plant is located on the east coast, and the problem is, with the type we're dealing with, we checked with every chiller company that we could, and nobody has anything setting on the shelf," he said. "So, the quickest we could get one was to have it made."
The woman who lives on that second floor commended him for his effort.
"Keith at least checked on us," she said. "Management hasn't told us anything since we received that letter so other than that, we don't know what's going on."
While various residents said Keyway provides heat and air conditioning as part of their rental agreement, messages were left for both Dupuy and the on-site manager, inquiring if the seniors would be compensated on a per-day basis or receive any kind of reimbursements.
Calls made on Tuesday and Wednesday to Dupuy and the Odd Fellow management office were not returned by press time.
----
Contact Tammy R. Lawson at 641-753-6611 or tlawson@timesrepublican.com
