Madison, rest of County to see siren upgrades
Upgrades to emergency weather sirens in the City of Madison, as well as elsewhere in the County, is rolling along, with the Madison City Council approving money to improve the 14 sirens located within the City. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – With severe weather approaching, the City of Madison is partnering with the City of Huntsville, Madison County and Redstone Arsenal to upgrade the emergency warning sirens maintained by the Huntsville – Madison County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
The Madison City Council, at its March 9 meeting, approved $80, 768 to go towards upgrades for the 14 warning sirens located within the city limits. The total cost for upgrading all 130 emergency warning sirens in the County sits at $749,995.
The main improvements to the County’s sirens will be to install an electronic Motorola system for the ability to activate sirens remotely and to create computer activation systems at the EMA facility in downtown Huntsville and at the 911 center on Oakwood Road between Providence Main and Research Park.
In addition to the cost-sharing agreement for siren upgrades, the Council heard a presentation from John “Rusty” Russell, the director of the Huntsville – Madison County EMA, in connection with the City’s annual appropriation of $45,000 to the agency.
After the meeting, District 4 Councilman Mike Potter spoke about the City’s push for four more weather sirens in eastern Limestone County as the City continues to expand in that area.
“We’re going out for bids for several, and then we’re going to buy them,” Potter said. “We’re going to buy as much as we can afford.”
Potter said the City is prepared to contribute $35,000 to purchase sirens, while he said Madison has also received verbal commitments from state legislators to appropriate money.
The first new siren, Potter said, will be in the Stillwater Cove subdivision just west of County Line Road. As houses are built, Potter said, the City will assess where sirens will be needed.
