Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Etna Green board backs 100% grant application to replace tornado siren, seeks community letters of support
Summary
Town leaders approved a motion to sign a letter of support and mobilize community and business letters for a 100%-funded grant to upgrade Etna Green’s tornado siren, which officials say would expand coverage into neighboring counties and allow remote dispatching rather than manual activation.
The Etna Green Town Board voted to authorize a letter of support for a grant application to replace the town’s manually operated tornado siren and expand emergency coverage.
Olivia, the grant writer leading the application, told the board the grant is nationwide and is 100% funding, requiring no local match. She asked the board to approve a letter on official town letterhead signed by the town board president, which the board approved in a voice vote.
Officials urged collecting individual letters from residents and businesses to strengthen the narrative. "They're wanting more letters of support showing...community support for the project," Olivia said, adding that separate, personalized letters are preferred over a single petition. The board discussed a short timeline: the application must be submitted by Sept. 30, and Olivia asked for as many separate letters as possible before that deadline.
Presenters shared a coverage map indicating roughly a multi-mile radius that would reach beyond Etna Green into portions of Kosciusko and Marshall counties. They said an upgraded siren would allow emergency dispatch to trigger alerts and remove the current need for firefighters to activate the system manually.
Fire representatives and council members said the new system would improve public safety in more rural, outlying areas. "That will be the connection point with Kip and the county...then it will be able to be dispatched...versus having to have the fire department do that," one presenter said.
Next steps: Olivia will draft the narrative and the town will collect letters of support from residents, businesses and the county EMA director; the board president will sign the town’s letter of support before submission.
