Upgrades to Storm Sirens Complete

Just in time for spring, the City of Willow Springs completed upgrades to the town’s storm sirens. At the January City Council meeting, the Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to spend $9,000 on repairs and upgrades to the system, which had been malfunctioning. 

 

The reason the sirens were malfunctioning was the mechanism was receiving a tone from a nearby agency with a frequency similar enough to the City’s to trigger the sirens. The other agency’s signal tower is higher than the one in Willow Springs, so the problem would have continued to sync up without significant changes to the current system, Hicks reported. 

 

Prior to the repairs, the sirens remained disconnected from power to prevent unwanted alerts. After the repairs, the City tested the new system twice, confirmed City Administrator Beverly Hicks. 

 

“We are now ready and prepared for any tornadic activity,” said Hicks, “The new upgrades put into place will allow us to expand our alert system to the south industrial area where a concentrated amount of employees are employed.”

 

Further upgrades are in the works to accommodate the growing commerce at the south end of town, reported Hicks.

“We have applied for a FEMA grant to purchase one new siren to be placed at the south junction. However, the exact site will be determined by a contractor,” she said.