Published: September 25, 2008 10:16 am      

Bids sought for county sirens

CHARLOTTE — The drive for emergency sirens to serve Clinton County’s small towns and rural areas took a step forward Monday when representatives of most of the towns met with Chance Kness, emergency management agency coordinator.

It was the second meeting of officials who said their towns had either no sirens or sirens which were old and could fail at any time.

Having just come through a spring and summer of floods and tornado warnings, they were ready to do something.

Kness reviewed the report he had given at the first meeting, at which time he recommended the purchase of voice capable sirens, which would explain what kind of emergency was at hand.

But this week he said further research had caused him to “shift directions” from what he had said.

He said he learned the voice capable sirens not only were much more expensive, and can be hard to maintain, but they are only omnidirectional, meaning the sound would only spread the alarm in one direction.

“So we would have to have many more sirens to cover our areas,” Kness said.

He is now recommending rotational electromechanical equipment.

He then turned to financing, saying that after the first meeting was reported in the media, he was contacted by Greg Thompson of the United States Department of Agriculture office in Tipton.

Thompson said several of the communities involved would be eligible for funding assistance, based on data the USDA already has.

The towns and the percentage of cost they probably could receive are: Toronto, 55 percent; Wheatland, 35 percent; Lost Nation, 35 percent; Delmar, 35 percent; Andover, 15 percent.

Kness urged those towns to start the grant process as soon as possible. A representative of the USDA will assist, he said.

The other towns and the county are not eligible for grants, but may qualify for loans at 4.5 percent interest for up to 20 years, Kness reported.

The idea of applying for a gaming grant was raised and Supervisor Jill Davisson pointed out that it would be a stronger application if the cities and county applied as a whole.

Supervisor Dennis Starling said he wanted to make sure the county as a whole was adequately covered.

“How many sirens would that take?” he asked.

Winston Rock, of Low Moor, suggested purchasing something like weather radios, which many residents already depend on.

Kness acknowledged that weather radios are important, but said they are only part of the plan and would probably have a poor cost to benefit ratio to cover the entire county.

Mayor Jerry Bopp of Wheatland made a motion to issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for a minimum of 15 sirens, to be located in Andover, Calamus, Charlotte, Delmar, DeWitt, Grand Mound, Lost Nation, Low Moor, Toronto and Wheatland, with sirens also in the unincorporated communities of Bryant, Elwood and Teeds Grove.

Appointed to serve on a committee to review and score the RFPs when they are received were Kness and Jennifer Paukner of the emergency management agency; mayor Marty Jahn, Charlotte; Steve Lindner, DeWitt; and Davisson representing the rest of the county.

A committee also was named to be in charge of grant writing. Those members were Kness and Paukner; Roland Behrens, Andover, and Bopp.

Kness also reported on the pricing of CodeRed, a type of reverse 911 calling to notify people of emergencies. He said based on 50,000 people, the cost was about $37,500. Anyone who wants more information can contact him at the EMA office, (563) 242-5712.

Another meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 17 in DeWitt.