Thanks to a concerned citizen in Mildred, a storm siren was recently found to no longer be working in the small community. Allen County Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Trego noted to county commissioners Tuesday morning that a new siren would cost $23,000 from the county’s vendor, Blue Valley Public Safety.
Commissioner Jerry Daniels asked about the siren testing process and whether someone who works in Emergency Management drives by when the test is occurring to ensure they are in working order.
“That is something worth looking into,” said Trego. Daniels recommended not doing it for every test, but possibly doing it quarterly.
Trego said he inquired with Blue Valley Public Safety about “smart sirens,” that sound by themselves if the surrounding area falls within what the National Weather Service has deemsed as being under a tornado warning.
Currently, there are working sirens in Petrolia, Elsmore, Humboldt, Carlyle, LaHarpe, Gas, Moran, Savonburg, and Iola. The communities test on different days and times, with Iola testing sirens every Monday at noon unless there is bad weather.
Trego said he wanted to gather information about potential grants and possibly approach the commission within a week to discuss further. “Even if there is a grant available and we apply for it, we won’t have a storm siren in place for tornado season,” Commissioner Bruce Symes commented about the four to five month turn-around time to receive and install a siren. Trego agreed and added that many grants won’t apply for the project if they’ve already begun the installation. Commissioner David Lee shared that the siren would be paid for, whether it be out of the general fund, emergency management fund, or wherever the money was available.
IN OTHER NEWS:
• Symes was appointed as the new chair for the commission for 2024.
• Public Works Director Mitch Garner told the commission that flyers would be passed out to customers concerning recycling services now being offered at the landfill. The landfill will accept No. 2, clear plastic and lithium batteries.
Symes discussed with the other commissioners about placing an ad in the newspaper and on radio concerning service opportunities for boards and commissions, as well as job opportunities within the county. Thrive Allen County Director of Economic Development Jared Wheeler suggested to the commission that they advertise via both traditional media, as well as social media. The commissioners agreed that this would be beneficial.
• The commission discussed starting wage increases for certain county departments. It was noted that the departments which had presented to the commission previously — Allen County Emergency 911 Dispatch, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, and the Appraiser’s office — had found within their own budgets to provide these wage increases. County Counsel Bob Johnson added that the departments have budgetary authority, so the commission gave its blessing to the department heads to move forward. Symes said it is important to note that these increases are for starting wages only, as a means of attracting new hires. The increases would not be reflected throughout current employees’ pay. Symes pointed to the recent county-wide 4% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase that gave current employees in the county an increase to their pay.
