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Committee asks staff to research costs to replace and maintain tornado sirens after citizen concern
Summary
Following a citizen's concern that some residents lack alternate warning methods, the committee directed city staff to research replacement and maintenance costs for tornado sirens; the record cites a 2019 Outagamie County decision to discontinue a county maintenance agreement and a prior city finance committee recommendation that council declined.
The Joint Committee of the Whole voted May 27 to ask city staff to research the cost of replacing and maintaining tornado sirens after a guest raised concerns that some residents lack access to alternate severe-weather warnings.
The City Administrator reviewed a 2019 Outagamie County Board decision to discontinue its maintenance agreement for tornado sirens and said the Seymour Finance Committee in August 2019 recommended the city accept responsibility; the city council at the time declined, citing alternate communications options. Guest Sarah Cornish told the committee she was concerned about discontinuing the sirens because "some people don't have access to other methods to warn of a tornado/severe weather," the transcript states.
Alderperson Gerbers moved to have city staff research replacement and maintenance costs for the sirens; Alderperson Schaumberg seconded the motion, which the committee carried. The transcript records the motion carried but does not provide a vote tally or a timeline for staff follow-up. The committee discussed the idea of researching both replacement costs and ongoing maintenance but did not make a funding commitment in the record.
