Board approves $283,900 lease to replace and service city warning sirens

The board voted May 5 to authorize the city manager to enter a five-year lease agreement with NCL Government Capital to fund replacement and repair work on the city's warning siren system.

The city attorney read a resolution stating the total expense at $283,899.95 payable over five years with annual payments of $69,182.97. The work described by staff included three new sirens, repairs at existing sites and a five-year maintenance and testing service agreement from Federal Signal.

Fire public-safety staff and board members told the board that a prior contractor, American Signal, had left work incomplete despite earlier payments and that several sirens remained inoperable. "I finally found a company that I really trust in doing this work," one public-safety official said, adding that the Texas side was spending nearly $600,000 with the same company on their sirens. Board members asked staff to pursue recouping funds where appropriate; staff said they would prepare a demand letter and pursue remedies.

The resolution was read and then adopted after a roll-call vote. The board did not attach any additional conditions to the lease beyond the service agreement and repairs authorized in the resolution.

Why it matters: The siren system is a primary public-alert tool for severe weather and other emergencies. Board discussion raised the system's incomplete repairs under a prior vendor and the city's plan to move to solar-powered replacements on some sites to reduce reliance on grid power.

The board authorized the city manager to execute the lease and directed staff to assemble documentation for any legal or financial recovery related to past contracts.