Richland County to spent nearly $194,000 to upgrade tornado sirens
Digitization of the controls for Richland County’s tornado warning system should be complete by this time next year.
County commissioners on Tuesday awarded a contract to Vasu Communications Inc. and designated $193,837 in restricted American Rescue Plan Act funds to upgrade controls for the county’s 44 tornado warning sirens from the county’s old VHF radio system to the statewide Multi Area Radio Communications System.
The upgrade includes new control boards to activate the sirens through M.A.R.C.S. and cellular LTE and also will monitor siren activation status through a computer browser interface.
Emergency Management Agency Director Rebecca Owens noted that Vasu is the county’s current vendor that works on the sirens as well as fire and law enforcement communications on a regular basis. The company is now repairing several of the 40- to 50-year-old sirens that were found to be not working during a test in April.
Owens emphasized there also are other ways for people to receive warnings.
“Sirens are not the only means simply because they are meant to be heard outside, but they are a huge part of what we have in the county,” she said. “We have a lot of community members, particularly in the northern part of the county, that may not have other means to get warnings, so it is an option for them.”
Other options to receive alerts include the Federal Emergency Management Agency app, weather radios that receive broadcasts from the National Weather Service, or RcAlerts, the county’s wireless emergency notification system. Commissioners approved a contract in April with a new W.E.N.S. provider to improve reliability.
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“It’s important to be aware and realize that there is responsibility on your behalf as well to make sure you or your family are safe — and keep an eye on your neighbors as well,” Owens said.
Severe weather on the rise
Owens emphasized that everyone needs to be weather-aware because there appears to be a recent increase locally in severe weather.
“That’s just the pattern we’re seeing — that the pattern that typically is in the Midwest is shifting more towards our direction,” she explained.
The contract with Vasu for the digital upgrade is effective June 1 with a completion date of May 31, 2025.
“We’re hoping to have it completed sooner than later but we’re going to give it a little bit of a push in order to account for any weather we may encounter, which we know is most definitely possible,” Owens said.
Vasu was one of two companies that responded to a request for proposals for the siren upgrade. Cleveland Communications submitted a $2 million proposal that called for replacing all of the sirens and poles in “a major overhaul.”
“The scope of the proposal was not even the same as what we had requested,” Owens said. “That’s not what our plan is to do.”
Commissioner Tony Vero noted that he has talked with Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry about installing warning sirens in the city, which has none, and that the topic is “on her list.” The Mansfield Fire department will transition in the near future to M.A.R.C.S., which will put all county safety service agencies on the system.
The upgrade plan does not include Shelby, which maintains four tornado sirens.
In other business Tuesday, commissioners approved a $910 base contract with Truly Nolan Pest Control to deal with a problem with mice at the county dog shelter.
“I don’t think we’re going to need it constantly. We just want to make sure it’s under control,” Vero explained.
The board also approved a pair of contracts with Standard Plumbing and Heating of Mansfield, including one for $3,440 to replace a hot water heater at the Ohio Means Jobs facility. The other is for $2,660 to make water backflow repairs at the Peoples’ Community Center and the county jail.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County commissioners OK contract to upgrade tornado sirens
