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Siren upgrades still in limbo

Kansan: "When you are saving lives, money isn't important"

Story by Liz Zamora

3:41 p.m. Thursday, September 4, 2008

Shawnee County Emergency Directory Dave Sterbenz says it's going to take $981,000 to upgrade the siren system in Shawnee County.

Upgrades to the system weren't included in the county budget for next year, so Sterbenz says he will come up with a plan to replace at least 41 of the sirens and make the system more high tech.

"Any time we set off a siren we set off an entire county. The newest system will allow us to set off in the actual alert area," Sterbenz said.

Earlier this year, several sirens didn't go off or didn't work properly.

Sterbenz says that issue is being addressed.

One of those waiting to be fixed is in the 3200 block of 6th Street.

So, should the county fix them now or wait until a mandatory upgrade is needed in 2010?

"As long as the sirens have been tested and been found deficient and need to be replaced, it's something that needs to be done," Shawnee County resident Vern McFalls said.

"Yes, because it's going to save lives. And when you are saving lives, money isn't important," Jefferson County resident Kathy Foster said.

Sterbenz says the new sirens would be louder and reach more people. He says another goal is to evenly spread out the sirens throughout the county.

Lake Shawnee has no siren. Sterbenz says other sirens are too close too each other.

"There's a siren over at the 29th and Paulen area. That's a newer siren, but three blocks away there's an old-style siren similar to this one that needs to be taken out altogether," he said.

County Commissioner Vic Miller says the improvements were never in the general budget to begin with, adding the upgrades aren't necessary for another two years. If it's done sooner, a bond issue may be the solution to pay for it.