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Sedona approves three outdoor siren locations in FEMA‑funded pilot after demonstration tests
Summary
Council approved two FEMA‑funded siren locations (Forest Road parking garage and 221 Brewer Road) and authorized purchase of a third city‑funded site after vendor acoustic tests showed wide outdoor coverage; staff will return with activation protocols and guardrails.
The Sedona City Council approved a FEMA‑funded pilot to install outdoor alerting speakers in high foot‑traffic areas, voting to accept two grant‑covered sites and to add a city‑funded third site to expand coverage.
Emergency management staff described the project as part of the city’s evacuation and reentry planning. Staff and vendor Genesys (represented by Chris Roller) narrowed an initial list of candidate sites to two FEMA‑covered locations — the Forest Road parking garage and 221 Brewer Road — and proposed an optional third site (Thompson Trail/water tank) that would extend coverage into more residential and trail areas if the city funds it.
An October field test using a mobile trailer unit (30‑foot elevation) played tone and bilingual voice messages. Staff reported that 81% of surveyed listeners within the predicted coverage heard the test. Vendor acoustic modeling showed that combining the two main sites would provide substantial coverage in Uptown and other high‑foot‑traffic areas; adding the third site would reduce a remaining northwestern gap.
Councilors asked about technical details (directional horns vs. omnidirectional stacks), battery replacement and maintenance, visual impact and vandalism mitigation, whether sounds would reach indoors, and cybersecurity and authorization procedures for activation. Staff and vendor said the cabinets are lockable, powder‑coated to blend with building colors, designed for outdoor environments, and that the platform supports preprepared messages and secure activation workflows; city staff agreed to develop activation ‘guardrails’ (roles and a prohibited‑use list) and return to council before the system is fully activated.
By motion, council approved installing the two FEMA sites and purchasing the third site using city funds (authorization included contingency up to a specified limit); staff said FEMA funding must be spent by June 30, 2026, and purchasing the third site now would capture a bundled discount and compress mobilization and installation timing.
Next steps: staff will finalize site easements/agreements, complete environmental and permitting steps tied to the FEMA grant, come back to council with the formal activation and use policy, and coordinate public outreach so visitors and residents understand the system’s functions.
