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EMA: FCC approves siren-system license; ARP-funded outdoor warning upgrades to start after recent tornado response
Summary
EMA co-directors told the board the county’s ARP-funded outdoor-siren upgrade was delayed by an FCC licensing discrepancy but the license was approved this morning; crews from West Shore Services will begin installation soon. EMA leaders cited a recent confirmed F0 tornado in the county as underscoring the system’s importance.
Al Kurzitz and Jim Lopez, co-directors of Emergency Management Agency (EMA), told the board that work on an American Rescue Plan-funded outdoor warning-siren upgrade had been held up by an FCC licensing issue but that the county received approval this morning and installation can proceed.
Kurzitz said the project vendor, West Shore Services, submitted an application that the FCC initially rejected because one of the dipole antennas had been listed at 50 watts when the allowed entry was 20 watts; the vendor appealed the clerical error, and the county received license approval this morning. Kurzitz said crews and equipment are staged and West Shore Services intends to deploy multiple crews with boom trucks to complete the work quickly.
Kurzitz and Lopez recounted that the county experienced a confirmed F0 tornado about 10 days earlier that damaged commercial property near Meijer and other businesses; they said the sirens activated during the event, that most residents received the alerts and that the county received two complaints from residents who could not hear the sirens inside their houses. EMA staff inspected the locations and said those houses were within the perimeter of the siren’s sound cone and indoors with doors and windows closed, which the presenters said would reduce audibility.
Kurzitz emphasized that the FCC license approval clears a key administrative hurdle and that the county has the necessary equipment in reserve and a Zoom coordination meeting scheduled with vendors and engineers. He said staff will confirm the contractor’s crew schedule on Thursday and provide a timeline to the commissioners.
What’s next: EMA will confirm crew schedules and begin field deployment once the contractor’s logistics are finalized; the board received the update and asked no formal questions beyond timing.
