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Alma council debates sounding county sirens for severe thunderstorms; residents raise audibility concerns
Summary
Mayor Richard Champeny circulated a multi-municipality letter to Sheriff Osmond asking that county sirens be sounded for severe thunderstorms as well as tornadoes; residents said they sometimes cannot hear sirens and worry about false alarms while public works staff said sirens benefit crews in the field.
During the July 11 meeting, Mayor Richard Champeny reported that Sheriff Osmond instructed him to draft a letter requesting the county sound sirens for severe thunderstorms, not only tornadoes, and to solicit sign-on from neighboring municipalities including Nelson, Buffalo City and Cochrane.
Resident John Hadley and others expressed concern that if sirens are sounded too often or for storms that do not affect Alma, residents may begin to ignore them. Hadley and Jane Langenfeld also said they do not always hear the sirens at their homes. Council members discussed the trade-off between broader warning coverage and false alarms; Gary Jepsen said his understanding was that county parameters are set at 58 mph winds.
Foreman Joe Wick said he favors the siren because city crews working in the field may not hear cellphone alerts. Mayor Champeny said he would check back with Sheriff Osmond on the parameters and noted the participating municipalities had approved sending the letter.
No formal policy change was recorded at the meeting; the council's immediate action was to finalize and forward the letter to the sheriff seeking clarification and possible policy change.
