The City of Mayville public safety committee voted July 28 to pursue a lower-cost option to add a sixth tornado siren after one newly installed siren failed to sound during a July 16 weather event. The committee asked staff to return with funding options before final purchase.

Committee members heard that one siren on River Drive did not sound when Dodge County dispatch triggered the system on July 16, though subsequent local tests showed the city’s monitoring equipment and repeated tests functioned. A police department staff speaker said technicians reprogrammed sirens and tested them individually afterward, and the installer reported no fault during inspections.

Committee members and residents described a perception that coverage in the center of town is quieter than before the system consolidation and that overnight events raise particular concern because residents are inside and may not hear an exterior siren. One resident said, “When you're in bed, your cell phone is probably turned off. And unless you have a NOAA radio... you rely on being able to hear this while you're in the house.” That comment was recorded during the meeting and attributed to a resident commenter.

The city presented two options from the installer, Nurse Communications: purchase a new rotating siren system (estimated about $35,000) or refurbish an existing siren head removed earlier, install it on a new pole with upgraded two-way radio monitoring (estimated about $15,000). The committee voted to pursue the used-head option with radio upgrades as a redundancy measure to improve center-of-town coverage.

Motion and vote: the motion to pursue option two (refurbished siren head, new pole and radio upgrades, approx. $15,000) was made by Alderperson Baker and seconded by Alderperson Newman. The motion carried. Committee members asked staff to identify a funding source and return with a recommendation to the full council.

The police department staff emphasized that sirens are designed to warn people outdoors and that making a siren loud enough to be heard inside a residence raises decibel-safety and proximity issues. Staff also noted the newer system reduced the total number of sirens to five with improved remote monitoring but with less redundancy than the previous, larger network of sirens.

Next steps: staff will explore funding sources and report back to the council with a recommendation; the committee’s motion was for staff to proceed with investigation and bring funding options forward rather than to authorize immediate purchase.