City to Pursue Funding For Storm Sirens

[500AT]

MEMPHIS, Mo. -- Emergency Management Director Bryan Whitney presented a proposal for upgrading the city?s emergency warning system at the August 7th meeting of the Memphis City Council.

Following fatal storms in Iowa, mayor William Reckenberg suggested upgrading the city?s warning siren, noting the current siren set-up required to much time to be triggered. Currently the warning siren must be activated at the city water plant, requiring a phone call from the dispatcher?s office.

Whitney presented a proposal to upgrade the nearly 50-year-old system with a new, louder siren that could be triggered by wireless activation keys. Those buttons could be located at the Scotland County Sheriff?s Department in the dispatch center, as well as in all emergency service vehicles such as police, sheriff and fire department.

The emergency director noted that grant funding for these types of projects is available through the USDA, but the application period is in February.

The council authorized Whitney to contact siren system distributors in an effort to schedule a review of the community to determine exact needs. There was some concern among the council that the community might need two sirens.

http://memphisdemocrat.com/2008/news/080814_siren.shtml

[FedTB]

He wants to upgrade to a new "louder" siren? I don't think he can get any louder with the T-135's in that system.

Please, no ATI's in Memphis! Though I don't live there, hopefully the city council will make the right decision and not go low bid.

[holler]

Memphis still has some Thunderbolts in the system I think.

[Bama2001]

Are you talking about Memphis, TN? The article says something about scotland county. Memphis, TN is located in Shelby County.

[Franz?]

Another dipstick politician looking for a free hooker and prepositioning his excuse for why his department failed miserably to do its job.

If the current system can be activated from a location it can easily be retrofitted to be triggered by phone and celphone for under $1000-. Instead of doing that the politicians probably want to blow $50,000 or more on a pipe dream that fails to work.

[Oldiesmann]

Are you talking about Memphis, TN? The article says something about scotland county. Memphis, TN is located in Shelby County.

Read the post again. It's Memphis, Missouri.

Replacing an entire siren just because the current one can't be activated remotely is ridiculous. The cost of installing a new siren is likely a lot more than the cost of upgrading the existing siren. Hopefully the review of the system will reveal that it's cheaper to upgrade that one siren, especially if they decide they need another one.

Hamilton County upgraded all the sirens in the county from phone-line activation to radio-signal activation between 1996 and 1998. I don't see many new sirens in the area - mostly old sirens that have been there for a lot longer than 10 years.

[ruralchief]

That city should look at applying for homeland security funding for this project. The Federal Government has given out BILLIONS in homeland security funding. The funding given out now has been cut back, but it should still be a priority for funding.

[Franz?]

That city should look at applying for homeland security funding for this project. The Federal Government has given out BILLIONS in homeland security funding. The funding given out now has been cut back, but it should still be a priority for funding.

Let me see if I understand your position.
The local government should look to the Feds for a solution to a clearly local problem that can be solved for less than $1000- using reliable US manufactured equipment that is already available.

How long do you figure it will take the local government to formulate a plan with the aid of a white shoed salesman, fill out all the requisite paperwork, submit it, wait for approval, modify the plan, resubmit, get aproval for a usually overly complex system, bid the system, and finally get it installed when the desired task of activating the siren remotely can be done for less than $1000- in under a month?

What is so complex about remotely activating an existing siren that it can't be accomplished locally and at low cost by either radio or telephone?

[ruralchief]

I am not advocating spending a ton of funding for this siren problem. I am recommending that homeland security (HS) funding can be looked into. I pay taxes, too and advocate responsible spending.

If this city is short of funding and the HS funding is avaliable, why not look into it?

Ever operate a fire department? I have. Several of them. You need to obtain grant funding to supplement your budget. Selling raffle tickets, food fundraisers and other fundraisers are not going to pay for $150,000
pumpers. Grants need to be sought.

In my area, numerous cities have used HS funding to replace their World War II era siren systems with modern warning siren systems.

[Franz?]

"I am not advocating spending a ton of funding for this siren problem. I am recommending that homeland security (HS) funding can be looked into. I pay taxes, too and advocate responsible spending.

If this city is short of funding and the HS funding is avaliable, why not look into it?"

Glad to know you're in favor of responsible spending, around here that seems to be pure evil. The situation as described is a simple control function, probably acheivable for less than $1000- with either radio or telephone activation. I don't see this as a Federal project. We both know the feds won't even look at a project under $20,000, so this project will undoubtedly be expanded to waste a lot of taxpayer funding to qualify for Fed money. Meanwhile a lot of time will be wasted, and some municipal employee will spend more taxpayer dollars filling out forms than the job was worth to begin with.

Ever operate a fire department? I have. Several of them. You need to obtain grant funding to supplement your budget. Selling raffle tickets, food fundraisers and other fundraisers are not going to pay for $150,000
pumpers. Grants need to be sought.

No, I never ran a fire Department, however I am constantly campaigning against the Department serving where I live, and will continue to as long as I draw breath.
BTW, you are missing an opportunity to peddle burned chicken cadavers as a sourse of income. They seem to do well here in NY.

I don't mean to be insulting, but you are buying cheap pumpers. For God sake man have you not heard pumpers now MUST have digital readouts in both pump operator compartments with computerized pump and valve control? Have you not heard any pumper worthy of its red paint must have an onboard hose drier? I'll wager you don't even have cab airconditioning, or onboard SCBA refilling capability either. The last pumper my Distrtict bought cost $479,000, and that was without hoses or axes. Oh, it spends most of it's time in a $5.7 mil firehouse with AC and athletic training room for the fire"fighters" too.
BTW, NY Fire Departments are taxing authoritys who answer to noone.

In my area, numerous cities have used HS funding to replace their World War II era siren systems with modern warning siren systems.[/quote]

Well, a fool and his money are soon parted in your part of the world too, aren't they. Never repair anything for 50 bucks when you can replace it for a couple thousand, especially when somebody else is picking up the bill, right.