All five outdoor warning sirens will receive upgrades this year.
At the March 8 City Council meeting, the Council approved upgrading the software and equipment on the sirens — which are designed to alert people outside of an impending storm — rather than replacing the entire siren.
The outdoor sirens will be upgraded to be a two-way siren. Currently, all sirens are a one-way system, which is a tone set off by the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center that the sirens pick up and sound off.
“The issue with this is, if the tone is not picked up by the computer in the siren, it won’t sound off,” Spring Hill Police Chief Richard Mann said. “We currently have to have manpower stationed at each of the five outdoor sirens to make sure they perform.”
Once the equipment is ordered, it will take about eight to 12 weeks to arrive.
“The upgrade allows for the system to send a signal stating whether the siren sounded or not back to EOC,” Mann said.
For locations of the five outdoor warning sirens in Spring Hill, visit www.jocogov.org/dept/emergency-management/outdoor-warning-sirens/siren-map