Parts and labor, not money, are the reason malfunctioning weather sirens have been out of commission for so long, McComb City Administrator David Myers said Friday.
Myers’ remarks followed a Pike County Board of Supervisors meeting in which a supervisor asked about the status of repairing inoperable sirens, including two in McComb, one on St. Augustine Street and another on Schmidt Road.
Myers said he has contacted emergency management personnel from Adams County who have been trained to repair weather sirens. They’re just waiting on parts.
Myers said the team assessed all weather sirens in the county and found that two in McComb, one in Osyka and another at North Pike Middle School were malfunctioning.
Coghlan told supervisors that the municipalities and school districts own the sirens and are responsible for repairing them.
Myers said the team from Adams County quoted $3,000 to fix all of the inoperable sirens and $2,000 for the ones inside city limits that aren’t working.
“They’re waiting on the parts to come in,” Myers said.
He said he’s considering sending city employees to the same training so future siren repairs can be made in house, noting that former street superintendent, the late Jim McCullough, used to perform that work.
“The City of McComb is looking at being proactive as it relates to our weather sirens,” Myers said. “I understand the frustrations from the citizens of the City of McComb about those weather sirens, but I want them to understand that we have been proactive about having them fixed.”
Myers said he takes malfunctioning weather sirens seriously, both from a professional and personal standpoint.
“I live four blocks from the thing,” he said of the siren on St. Augustine Street.
