MANSFIELD — The village of Bellville and the Richland County Commissioners are moving forward with a financial partnership to install a new tornado siren that will better serve its surrounding area.
Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus has long advocated for a new tornado siren to be installed on the southern end of Bellville, particularly where new housing developments are slightly out of reach of the current siren located downtown. On Tuesday, county commissioners unanimously committed to helping fund the new siren.
Originally, the two entities had hoped the Jefferson Township trustees would be willing to split the cost of the siren three ways. However, the trustees unanimously passed a resolution a few months ago stating they would not be willing to take on that cost.
“Jefferson Township has up to this point not shown a willingness to partner with Bellville and Richland County,” said Commissioner Tony Vero. “I think we need to do this regardless, especially in light of the fact that this county has a history of tornadoes and high weather events. Any extra of layer of safety we can provide to the residents is a good thing, at a very minimal cost.”
According to Brenkus and Richland County EMA Director Rick Evans, the estimated cost of a new tornado siren would be $30,000. The estimated electric cost to keep the siren running is $50 a month.
The Richland County Emergency Operations Plan states Richland County has 42 outdoor warning sirens in key locations throughout the county. Each siren is owned, operated and maintained by the jurisdiction in which it is located. Siren activation is performed by the Richland County dispatch center; Bellville’s new siren would be part of that system.
The plan states the purpose of outdoor warning sirens is to notify people who are outside to seek shelter and additional information about the situation. Outdoor warning sirens are designed to be audible for an outdoor range of approximately one square mile, depending on wind conditions.
Weather conditions such as storm noise and wind may diminish the effectiveness of sound transmission by the outdoor warning sirens. In addition, limitations in wireless service areas, landline and internet service interruptions, and other potential communications system failures can make the delivery of emergency warnings difficult or impossible.
However, in a separate interview with Richland Source, Jefferson Township Trustees chair Mark Gatton said he feels with today’s technology, the need for tornado sirens is not as prevalent.
“They were never designed to alert people indoors, and that’s all I needed to hear,” Gatton said. “There are different apps you can get on your phone that can tell you what’s going on weather-wise, good or bad, and everybody has a cell phone, internet and TV. So we didn’t feel that the expenditure was worth it.
“I’m not putting a negative twist on the fact that they think it is; that’s just how we feel,” he said. “It’s our job to spend our money wisely.”
According to Brenkus, the general fund balance for Jefferson Township was $144,000 as of February 2021. The population of Bellville is 2,200 and the vast majority of residents reside in Jefferson Township. Over half the population of Jefferson Township live within the village of Bellville.
“Bellville residents pay money into the Jefferson Township general fund. They pay the majority of their finances,” Vero said.
“While many have cell phones, not everyone is all that technologically savvy, and this is an extra layer of protection that I think is important to provide on top of a cell phone,” he said.
Brenkus said the ideal location for the new tornado siren would be at the Jefferson Township fire department. Gatton said the trustees would have “no qualms” about putting the siren at that location.
The new tornado siren would be able to reach residents particularly in the Greenbriar Condos, Hamilton Hills and Urban Meadows neighborhoods in Bellville. The village performed a test of decibel levels at four different locations in town; FEMA guidelines say the decibel level of a tornado siren is supposed to be 70 decibels, but most locations showed levels well under 70.
“I started a Greenbriar neighborhood watch about seven years ago; every year a lot of the residents that live in the condos said they could barely hear the tornado sirens,” Brenkus said. “Especially for the condos (without a basement), I felt it was really important to have a heads up as to what’s coming so they can get to a place of safety.”
The next steps are for Richland County EMA to work with the village of Bellville and determine a final, official cost for the new tornado siren. The two entities will then move forward on their own to finance and install the new siren.
“If we had the opportunity to collaborate efforts, it would make it reasonable and affordable for all of us to cover that many more people,” Brenkus said. “But either way, I think it’s our duty to do what we can to make sure everyone has a safe environment.”
