Wright City has resolved technical considerations for new tornado siren systems, set aside any last lingering concerns for how or whether they’ll integrate with sirens in other nearby cities, and put three new sirens on order. The installation window: January 2022.

After voting in late June to purchase replacements for the city’s sirens at the cost of $106,000, the Wright City Board of Aldermen took a final vote on Aug. 26 to decide what separate control system for the sirens will be installed at the Warren County 911 dispatch center. Aldermen had been presented with the options of a basic control system requiring manual operation, or a more expensive, automated control unit connected to the National Weather Service’s (NWS) warning system.

If purchasing the basic control system, there were questions about how to maximize compatibility with siren systems in other towns, City Administrator Jim Schuchmann said in August. If purchasing the NWS automated control system, Schuchmann had hoped he could quickly negotiate other area leaders into splitting the cost and sharing the benefit of the upgrade.

Aldermen in late August said they had lost all remaining patience with the situation. Two of the city’s three tornado sirens are currently non-functional and beyond repair.

“These conversations with the other municipalities are nice, but they’re too late. We need our tornado sirens,” said Alderman Ramiz Hakim.

Aldermen voted 4-0 on Aug. 26 to follow a recommendation from 911 Dispatch Administrator Amy LaBanca to purchase the automated NWS control system for $9,650.

Two weeks later, Schuchmann said the sirens are on order, but are now caught in the material-shipping logjam currently waylaying the manufacturing sector. They probably won’t be installed until January 2022 at the earliest, Schuchmann said.

Two of the sirens are also being relocated to better serve growing areas of Wright City, the city administrator said. Because the sirens are more powerful, they can be placed further apart.

The siren currently outside City Hall will move to Bell Road outside the Lake Tucci subdivision, while the siren on Highway H will be moved further to the southwest on the highway, Schuchmann said. The siren outside the Wright City police station will remain where it is to cover the central area of town.

“For the one at the police department, we made sure the coverage area extended down to cover the (future) new high school property” on Roelker Road, Schuchmann added. He also commented that Ameren will connect power to the tornado sirens at no charge.

Once installed, Schuchmann said the city can engage with contractor Outdoor Warning Consulting to provide ongoing maintenance of the sirens.