Winona Lake Continues Tornado Siren Discussion
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
The council, at its March 13 meeting, had previously discussed upgrading the town’s tornado siren.
The town has one tornado siren at the Winona Lake Fire Department across from Jefferson School. Only half of the speakers work in the existing tornado siren.
Allebach said he had a meeting with Ed Rock, Kosciusko County emergency management director, and they discussed the status of tornado sirens in the community.
Allebach said Rock has a map that lays out placement of tornado sirens, but the problem is the criteria for the grant process for tornado sirens has changed.
Allebach said the town does qualify for applying for funds for tornado sirens because the town has a mitigation plan.
The town can only apply for 49 percent of the grant toward tornado sirens, and the other 51 percent would need to be other types of emergency items such as shelters.
Allebach said Rock has shifted his philosophy from tornado sirens to an emergency notification system.
The system would allow residents to be alerted of inclement weather via text message, and weather radios also could be possibly used. Besides the system serving as a tornado warning, it also could be used for snowstorms.
Allebach said the county has four dozen weather radios, and he said there could be a possibility of coordinating with churches to distribute those radios to those who cannot afford them.
Rock is looking at proposals for a countywide emergency notification system.
Allebach said Warsaw has a tornado siren at the east fire station, city hall and in Boggs Industrial Park.
He said he spoke with Mike Klondaris, city councilman, who has approached Rock and the fire department about the possibility of putting a tornado siren at the new fire station on CR 200S by Warsaw Community Church.
Allebach said he spoke with Mitch Titus, Winona Lake fire chief, who received a quote from J & K Communication, Columbia City, for $28,000 to replace the current tornado siren in Winona Lake.
Street Superintendent Pete O’Connell said he will look at the siren to see if the tornado speakers could be fixed.
Allebach said Clerk-Treasurer Kent Adams sent him an article from Kokomo that said the city does not have tornado sirens, but they are selling weather radios to the community for $9 each.
Jerry Nelson, Winona Lake resident, asked if this has to be an all-or-nothing tornado siren program.
“I realize the town wants to have tornado sirens that cover the community, but is there a way to do one siren a year?” Nelson asked.
Town Council President Randy Swanson said O’Connell’s plan to get the lift truck and fix the existing tornado siren is a good first step.
Swanson asked when the last time the tornado siren was tested, and Allebach said it was tested and sounded last week during Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Also during the meeting, former Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Retha Hicks attended the meeting, asking if the council has addressed the capital budget.
She also suggested the town committees meet in a combined meeting with the council to discuss and assist in establishing long-term goals for the town.
Hicks said she, as the previous clerk-treasurer, had 80 hours of staff support. The current clerk-treasurer has 112 hours of support, according to Hicks.
She said there also has been approximately eight hours of responsibility, (all property rentals) moved under the auspices of park director, which leaves 72 hours needing covered compared to last year, but there is 112 hours being utilized.
“This accounts for a cost to the community of about $47,000 ($35,000 in wages and $11,500 in benefits),” Hicks said.
She asked the council to explain the reasoning behind the increase in staff.
“I’d like to have an answer,” Hicks said.
Adams said he would be pleased to sit down with Hicks to talk to her about financial figures.
“I would say publically I was well aware of the conflict that existed in the previous years with this council and the clerk-treasurer’s position and that’s not my style,” Adams said. “We serve the public trust and it’s their money and I have no desire to do any of this publically.”
Hicks said she is glad the council has been able to resolve issues.
“My responsibility as a clerk-treasurer was to give facts and that’s what I did,” Hicks said.
Swanson said all that Adams is doing is within the 2012 budget for the office, a budget that was passed under the supervision of Hicks.
He said Hicks’ charges on the capital budget seem to arise from an Asset Management Report for both above ground and below ground wastewater assets conducted by Severn Trent and delivered to the council in February 2011.
The report laid out an assumed schedule of replacement of those assets over the next 10 to 20 years. The replacement schedule in the report assumed somewhat of a worst case rate of failure for those replacements, Swanson said.
“Her comments should not be allowed to unduly arouse concern of our town’s citizen’s that either this council or the last has been negligent or derelict in our stewardship of the town’s financial resources,” Swanson said.
Also during the meeting, the council heard Building Commissioner Dick Leaf is retiring after 16 years of service with the town.
Allebach made the announcement.
Allebach said Leaf’s last day as building commissioner is April 26, and Allebach said he will post the job and plans to have someone fill the position by then.
The job is 21 to 22 hours per week, and two to three days per week.
Also during the meeting, the council amended the senior and park activity director rate for Holly Hummitch for a salary of $15.61 per hour.
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The council, at its March 13 meeting, had previously discussed upgrading the town’s tornado siren.
The town has one tornado siren at the Winona Lake Fire Department across from Jefferson School. Only half of the speakers work in the existing tornado siren.
Allebach said he had a meeting with Ed Rock, Kosciusko County emergency management director, and they discussed the status of tornado sirens in the community.
Allebach said Rock has a map that lays out placement of tornado sirens, but the problem is the criteria for the grant process for tornado sirens has changed.
Allebach said the town does qualify for applying for funds for tornado sirens because the town has a mitigation plan.
The town can only apply for 49 percent of the grant toward tornado sirens, and the other 51 percent would need to be other types of emergency items such as shelters.
Allebach said Rock has shifted his philosophy from tornado sirens to an emergency notification system.
The system would allow residents to be alerted of inclement weather via text message, and weather radios also could be possibly used. Besides the system serving as a tornado warning, it also could be used for snowstorms.
Allebach said the county has four dozen weather radios, and he said there could be a possibility of coordinating with churches to distribute those radios to those who cannot afford them.
Rock is looking at proposals for a countywide emergency notification system.
Allebach said Warsaw has a tornado siren at the east fire station, city hall and in Boggs Industrial Park.
He said he spoke with Mike Klondaris, city councilman, who has approached Rock and the fire department about the possibility of putting a tornado siren at the new fire station on CR 200S by Warsaw Community Church.
Allebach said he spoke with Mitch Titus, Winona Lake fire chief, who received a quote from J & K Communication, Columbia City, for $28,000 to replace the current tornado siren in Winona Lake.
Street Superintendent Pete O’Connell said he will look at the siren to see if the tornado speakers could be fixed.
Allebach said Clerk-Treasurer Kent Adams sent him an article from Kokomo that said the city does not have tornado sirens, but they are selling weather radios to the community for $9 each.
Jerry Nelson, Winona Lake resident, asked if this has to be an all-or-nothing tornado siren program.
“I realize the town wants to have tornado sirens that cover the community, but is there a way to do one siren a year?” Nelson asked.
Town Council President Randy Swanson said O’Connell’s plan to get the lift truck and fix the existing tornado siren is a good first step.
Swanson asked when the last time the tornado siren was tested, and Allebach said it was tested and sounded last week during Severe Weather Preparedness Week.
Also during the meeting, former Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Retha Hicks attended the meeting, asking if the council has addressed the capital budget.
She also suggested the town committees meet in a combined meeting with the council to discuss and assist in establishing long-term goals for the town.
Hicks said she, as the previous clerk-treasurer, had 80 hours of staff support. The current clerk-treasurer has 112 hours of support, according to Hicks.
She said there also has been approximately eight hours of responsibility, (all property rentals) moved under the auspices of park director, which leaves 72 hours needing covered compared to last year, but there is 112 hours being utilized.
“This accounts for a cost to the community of about $47,000 ($35,000 in wages and $11,500 in benefits),” Hicks said.
She asked the council to explain the reasoning behind the increase in staff.
“I’d like to have an answer,” Hicks said.
Adams said he would be pleased to sit down with Hicks to talk to her about financial figures.
“I would say publically I was well aware of the conflict that existed in the previous years with this council and the clerk-treasurer’s position and that’s not my style,” Adams said. “We serve the public trust and it’s their money and I have no desire to do any of this publically.”
Hicks said she is glad the council has been able to resolve issues.
“My responsibility as a clerk-treasurer was to give facts and that’s what I did,” Hicks said.
Swanson said all that Adams is doing is within the 2012 budget for the office, a budget that was passed under the supervision of Hicks.
He said Hicks’ charges on the capital budget seem to arise from an Asset Management Report for both above ground and below ground wastewater assets conducted by Severn Trent and delivered to the council in February 2011.
The report laid out an assumed schedule of replacement of those assets over the next 10 to 20 years. The replacement schedule in the report assumed somewhat of a worst case rate of failure for those replacements, Swanson said.
“Her comments should not be allowed to unduly arouse concern of our town’s citizen’s that either this council or the last has been negligent or derelict in our stewardship of the town’s financial resources,” Swanson said.
Also during the meeting, the council heard Building Commissioner Dick Leaf is retiring after 16 years of service with the town.
Allebach made the announcement.
Allebach said Leaf’s last day as building commissioner is April 26, and Allebach said he will post the job and plans to have someone fill the position by then.
The job is 21 to 22 hours per week, and two to three days per week.
Also during the meeting, the council amended the senior and park activity director rate for Holly Hummitch for a salary of $15.61 per hour.
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