After rumors about the condition of Marion County’s warning sirens spread online, officials report the sirens are working, with a few exceptions.
Marion County has 24 warning sirens, sometimes referred to as tornado sirens. The system is used to alert residents of weather emergencies or active public threats.
Captain Lydia Frey of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office explained the county canceled its siren test in May due to inclement weather. This month’s test took place June 24 and dispatch had not received any reports of malfunctioning sirens.
“The upkeep of the sirens is the responsibility of the various townships, villages and city that have them,” Frey wrote. “We notify them of when the test is going to happen; it is their responsibility to have someone there to see if it is working and to repair it if it is not. All we do is set the sirens off.”
City estimates fixing its sirens could cost hundreds of thousands
The warning sirens are becoming an aging technology. Officials have indicated the sirens are expensive to replace, as many of the parts needed for the sirens are no longer made.
During June’s test, the city found at least two of its six sirens, one at the airport (which hasn’t been functional in years) and another at Station 3, were not working. City Safety and Service Director Rob Cowell estimated that major repairs on five city sirens would cost $240,000.
“And that’s not even a completely new system,” Cowell said. “That’s a major upgrade, but that’s not even everything top to bottom.”
Cowell couldn’t estimate how much a complete recplacement would cost.
“Those sirens were never intended to alert people in their homes or if you were sleeping,” Cowell said. “They were never intended for that, even when they were working at 100%. They were just made for people that were outside at the time of the alert.”
The city attempted to apply for a grant to cover repair costs, but it required a match from the city. The city would then be responsible for $60,000. While it hoped to use in-kind labor, estimates came back that the labor would only cost $5,000.
Officials are encouraging residents to sign up for Hyper-Reach, an emergency notification system that sends alerts through cell phones, landlines or email. Residents can sign up for the service online or by going to the city website.
Marion City Council was informed of the city administration’s decision to step back from the grant during the council meeting June 22. Dan Clark, At Large, worried about citizens who don’t have cell phones and who may rely on the sirens for tornado warnings.
“I think that that has to be a priority, and that’s something we should always come up with the money for,” Clark said.
Officials intend to keep looking for grants to replace the sirens, but Grant Administrator Zoe Brown explained it can be difficult to find grants, as the sirens don’t fall into one particular category.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion officials estimate warning siren repairs would cost $240,000
Reporting by Abby Bammerlin, Marion Star / Marion Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Abby Bammerlin, Marion Star | USA TODAY Network
