Lincoln Aldermen discuss use of storm sirens within city limits

 

[May 30, 2019] 

In the last week to ten days, the storm sirens within the city of Lincoln have been activated once for severe winds. This activation occurred on Thursday, May 23rd at around 1 a.m. to 1:15 a.m.

At this week’s meeting of the Lincoln City Council, Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky said that there had been conversations in the community about the sirens and some thought there were sirens that did not go off. Dunovsky said that he had verified that every one of the eight sirens in the city had sounded off.

Dunovsky explained that activation of the sirens is by criteria. The criteria is that there has to be sustained winds of at least 55 mph, visible cloud rotation signifying conditions are right for tornadic activity, or an actual tornado on the ground verified by trained officials.

The activation on that Thursday night had been due to sustained wind speeds of 59 miles per hour within the city limits. Though several other storms have passed through the city since then, none have met the criteria for siren activation.

Dunovsky also took the opportunity to remind everyone that the storm sirens are intended as a warning system for people who are outside, and should not be relied upon as the sole warning system for folks when they are inside their homes or work locations.

Alderwoman Kathy Schmidt questioned the timeliness of the sirens. She noted that those with cell phones receiving the Nixle warnings from the Logan County EMA were notified 18 minutes before the sirens went off. She surmised that by the time the sirens went off, the storm was over, or had passed through the city.

Dunovsky said that the warning that had been issued by EMA was just that a warning. It meant that the conditions were there, and there was a strong possibility that there would be tornadic activity. However, the sirens go off when the probability becomes reality. The two warning systems have two different functions.

Kevin Bateman understood Schmidt’s concerns, but the reality is that the public inside their homes during a storm should not be relying on storm sirens for their warnings. Schmidt said the issue there is that for some who are old that is all they have. They don’t have modern phones, they use flip phones that can’t get Nixle, so they don’t get any other warning than that of the sirens.

Tracy Welch said that he too understood the concern and that perhaps there was additional conversations that should take place. He agreed that when there is an actual tornado on the ground, and if it is traveling at 140 mph, which is what was recorded that night north of Lincoln, by the time someone pushed the button to say it is here, it is actually gone.

Schmidt also questioned maintenance on the sirens. She said it was her understanding that the sirens are serviced by Lincolnland Communications, but that there is no annual maintenance agreement for the sirens.

Dunovsky said that was true at the moment. The past and current practice is that when it is reported that a siren is not working or malfunctioning, it is checked and if attention is needed, the service provider is called. He added however that he is currently working on a maintenance plan for the city sirens and that should be forthcoming.

Dunovsky also told the aldermen that conversations with the Logan County EMA, representatives from that organization had said that the citizens of the city were not in danger from any of the other storms. He said that group has “plenty of people who could have pushed the button, but did not because the conditions were not there.”

Schmidt also noted that there is one siren in the city that was installed in the 1970’s. Was the city not concerned about the age of that siren? Dunovsky said that the older siren is actually one of the better ones in the city.

Schmidt said it was her understanding that a new siren costs about $20,000. She wondered if the city should be putting together a savings plan for replacement of sirens.

City Treasurer Chuck Conzo said the city does budget for sirens each year, and that if a replacement is needed the city can do a new appropriations amendment to put money into sirens.

Ron Keller also spoke up along with Street Superintendent Walt Landers and Police Chief Paul Adams.

Keller said the Nixle program for Logan County is an excellent resource and everyone should be subscribing to the free service. Landers also noted that residents should have weather radios. He said the radios have alarms that will go off when the community is in danger. Adams added that radios purchased can be taken to the Logan County EMA offices and staff there will program the radios so that residents receive warnings pertaining to our community.

Local residents can subscribe to the Nixle warning system free of charge through the Logan County website. On the county website go to the community tab and then choose Emergency Management Agency (Here is the link)  Scroll down on the page until you see the Nixle logo. Click on it and provide the information requested. Residents have the option of getting text messages or emails or both.

You can also sign up for Nixle through the Lincoln Police Department page on the city of Lincoln website. Go to the city of Lincoln website, click on departments and choose “Police Department.” On the police page the signup is on the right hand side of the page and offers again the options for text or email. Here is the link to that page 

[Nila Smith]