NEW ALBANY – As the spring severe weather season draws near, it was reported Tuesday that the city of New Albany’s tornado warning sirens are essentially unworkable.
Light, gas and water manager Bill Mattox said his department sets off the sirens by radio control from the utility dispatch office and is supposed to test the sirens on the first Saturday of each month. However, the two sirens represent almost continuous maintenance problems and at least one has been hit by lightning.
Mattox has found someone to check and evaluate the sirens and asked to have them repaired on an emergency-need basis. That is partly due to the season but also because of the difficulty in finding someone to repair them.
The estimated cost to replace one siren and repair the other, including adding lightning protection, will be about $32,000.
Aldermen voted to have the work done, but the question arose concerning where the money should come from. The sirens are not really Light, Gas and Water’s responsibility, so it was unclear which part of the budget should be used.
Technically, aldermen suggested, this should be an emergency management project and apparently they have talked with county director Curt Clayton. He told them grants may be available for replacing the sirens but the deadline has passed for the year. It might be possible to get one next year, he said.
Ultimately, Mayor Tim Kent told Mattox to proceed, regardless, saying, “We will make it work somehow.”
by J. Lynn West, New Albany Gazette
March 11, 2018
