Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
MPA student presents weather-station proposal to Linden council to fill sensor gap
Loading...
Summary
An MPA student presented options for a municipal weather station to improve severe‑weather warning coverage around Utah Lake, outlined three vendor/price tiers and funding options, and urged the council to consider a near‑term low‑cost installation with longer‑term upgrades tied to an education center.
An MPA student identified only as Melinda told the Linden City Council on Nov. 17 that the city lacks local weather‑sensor coverage because of its hills and valley location near Utah Lake and proposed installing one or more weather stations to improve emergency alerts and operational data for public works.
Melinda, who said she is a UVU MPA student working under Chris Lindquist, outlined three equipment tiers: a prosumer Davis Instruments unit (about $1,700–$3,400, expected life 5–10 years), a professional NovoLynx system (about $5,300, life 10–15 years), and a research‑grade Campbell Scientific station (higher cost, approaching $12,000 for some configurations, life 15–20 years). She noted additional recurring cloud/subscription fees are optional and that a solar panel add‑on runs roughly $1,000. She said Campbell Scientific can connect to many systems and that a heated precipitation gauge adds roughly $5,000 but “Utah doesn’t really need the heated rain gauge,” based on her vendor contact.
Melinda described operational uses beyond emergency alerts: improved flood, drainage and wildfire planning, and integration with public works systems such as automatic irrigation controllers to save water. She singled out Public Works Manager Juan Garrido as an early supporter: "Juan recognized right away the benefits of a weather station being able to connect into the public works," she said.
Council members asked technical and operational questions. Melinda said some systems store data locally (SD card) while others upload to third‑party cloud services and NOAA. She recommended a lower‑cost short‑term unit to fill the immediate sensor gap and suggested larger, more reliable units could be pursued if funding and the planned Utah Lake education center materialize in later years. Melinda said she had researched potential funding sources, including the transient room tax, Department of Public Safety grants and other grant programs, and offered to assist staff in grant research though she did not expect to be the city’s primary applicant.
City staff thanked Melinda for the work and said they would coordinate further with Juan Garrido and Parks/Public Works staff. Administrator Ben Cowie said the city would consider the project as either a budget amendment or as part of the upcoming budget process if they decide to pursue it.
Next steps: staff will review the options, discuss grant opportunities, and bring a recommendation back to council if the city pursues a purchase or budget amendment.
