Everly council moves forward with siren purchase

Everly is about to become a one-siren town.

The city council on Monday approved an amended quote from Blue Valley Public Safety raising the price tag to replace the town’s warning siren from $28,500 to $31,098.95. Included in the new quote are the removal of the city’s two old sirens and the addition of a noon and 6 p.m. whistle, which was requested by council members.

The new warning siren will be installed later this summer. Only one of the city’s old sirens functions properly, and the new one will be capable of covering the entire town rather than just a portion of it.

The apparatus will be installed behind Everly Municipal Utilities’ building on Main Street. Once erected, it will have a 5,000-foot coverage radius and pump out 130 decibels of noise at 100 feet. The city intends to pay for the project with LOST revenue.

In other business, City Clerk Kristi Fliss updated the council on quotes regarding a new generator at the Hap Ketelsen Community Center. Once purchased and installed, it will be used during emergency power outage situations when the facility is opened as a shelter.

Council Member Tara Patrick was interested in running a line from the generator to the fire station so the department could operate the garage doors during a power outage. The option was deemed too expensive due to a price tag of approximately $3,000.

Instead, the city and fire department will investigate installing a manual switch and plug for a portable generator at the fire station for $2,625. The city may already have a portable generator available to use.

Finally, the council approved a commercial/industrial property tax rebate application for NEW Cooperative, which is building a new storage facility on the north side of its Everly property. Construction is underway with a majority of work slated for completion before winter.