The Wichita Falls Sales Tax Corp. on Thursday will consider helping the city of Wichita Falls pay for repairs or replacements for its tornado siren system.
An audit conducted by an Oklahoma firm this spring revealed 709 failures and 255 warning flags in the 53-siren system.
The Times Record News obtained the results of the audit through an open records request filed with the city.
The Omni Warn company proposed either repairing the system at a cost of about $1.19 million or replacing it for approximately $1.71 million.
The city released a statement June 1 that said many components in the siren system are aging and require upgrades, but the system continues to do what it was designed to do. The city also said it intends to streamline maintenance and put the system under the fire department’s supervision.
The city paid the company $10,125 for the audit, according to the information obtained by TRN.
The Sales Tax Corp. meeting agenda did not specify how much money the panel is considering giving to the city.
The Sales Tax Corp.’s money comes from a portion of the sales tax collected in the city and is earmarked for quality-of-life improvements.
The siren system is the only agenda item open to the public. The rest of the meeting is slated to be conducted in closed-door executive session and will include consideration of the Miniature Wonders project in Kiwanis Park, an abandoned large hotel at 401 Broad Street and land adjacent to an unnamed park.
At a May 7 meeting, the Sales Tax Corp. approved $360,000 for a fence to build around the proposed Miniature Wonders site.
Backers of the display of miniature landmarks have said it will attract 80,000 visitors to the city each year.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Tax panel to consider funding for Wichita Falls tornado siren system
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News | USA TODAY Network
