Public Elevator Update: We're Up and Running!

by Darryl Eschete, Director, WDM Public Library

As those of you who have recently visited us at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway know, the public elevator that had been previously been out of service is officially back up and running. While the elevator was out of service, we received many questions about the nature of the outage and how long it would take to repair. I'd like to share where we are in the process of upgrading both our public and staff elevators and what you can expect in the months to come. 

The repair that took place on Thursday, August 10 is a temporary fix until we are able to completely upgrade our entire elevator system. The City of West Des Moines has already budgeted $200,000 for the project and the planning and approval process has already begun. As far as I can tell, this is the first full replacement of an existing elevator in a West Des Moines City-owned facility, ever.

As of now, firms eligible to do the elevator replacement work have submitted proposals to the City for review by our facilities managers and engineers. After that, the plans must be reviewed by fire marshals and other building code experts. Then the plans have to be reviewed by the Iowa Division of Labor’s Department of Inspections Appeals and Licensing, who govern and certify elevators both preliminarily and then inspect them on an ongoing basis. Then the parts and equipment will need to be ordered and received and then the actual installation can be scheduled and executed. All in all, this could mean multiple months until completion.

I am writing this in order to share with you all the news I have, to apologize for the inconvenience, and to ask you to continue to bear with us while our elevator system is updated with modern safety features including a better onboard emergency communication system and security cameras. I think the wait and inconvenience will be worth it in the long run, and I, on behalf of the City, Library Board and staff thank you for your understanding. We will continue to update this blog post as we receive more information on this project. 

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at Darryl.eschete@wdm.iowa.gov or call me at 515-222-3409.