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Douglas County emergency manager warns 17 outdoor sirens face end‑of‑life, recommends maintenance and encryption review
Summary
Emergency management reported 126 outdoor warning sirens countywide are currently operational but said 17 are old enough that replacement parts no longer exist; officials proposed a $70,000 option for encryption and routine maintenance and offered replacement‑planning options for the 17 units.
Whitney Shipley, director of Douglas County Emergency Management, told the Criminal Justice Committee that the county has 126 outdoor warning sirens and that all were operational on the day of the meeting but that long‑term decisions are needed.
Shipley noted three generational groups of sirens: a small number of very old non‑rotational units, 17 intermediate units for which replacement parts are no longer available, and about 83 units installed around 2002–2003 under a Homeland Security initiative. "There are 126 sirens, and I'm thrilled to tell you that as of today, they all work," Shipley said, but she warned that components for 17 units are obsolete.
Why it matters: Shipley said the county is responsible for maintenance on sirens it inherited when countywide systems consolidated, and that several sirens are entering a period of increasing mechanical wear. She said if any of the 17 older rotational sirens fail, the original horn components are not replaceable because manufacturers no longer produce those parts.
Options and costs: Shipley outlined two near‑term items for the board to consider. One is a roughly $70,000 package to add encryption to sirens and to institute annual contractor maintenance and diagnostic alignment so units report status reliably. The second is a replacement plan for the 17 obsolete units at an estimated unit cost of about $30,000 each when replaced.
Diagnostics and security: Shipley said only about half the sirens currently "talk back" to the diagnostic system because of frequency misalignments and deferred maintenance. She also said the county was told it is technically possible for someone to activate sirens if they have the signal and that encryption would mitigate that risk. Shipley said other notification tools—the National Weather Service's wireless phone alerts and weather radio broadcasts—are federally funded and not controlled by the county.
Committee response: Commissioners asked whether sirens sit on easements or county property (Shipley said "with the exception of a few, yes") and whether FEMA requires sirens for funding (Shipley said FEMA's federally funded contributions are phone notifications and weather radio; FEMA does not mandate sirens). Shipley suggested several approaches: replace a small number of the oldest units and cannibalize parts to extend service for others, start a gradual replacement plan, or take some sirens out of service and emphasize alternate notification methods. No decision was made at the meeting.
