Comments (0) | |

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Houston sirens to be fully operational by year's end

PERRY — About half of Houston County’s 33 new warning sirens have been installed as the project moves toward completion, the county’s Emergency Management Agency director said Wednesday.

Houston Fire Chief Jimmy Williams said the three-pronged, all-hazards warning system is expected to be fully operational by Dec. 31. Williams, who also serves as the county’s EMA director, gave an update of the project at the Vision 2020 regular meeting.

Vision 2020 is a group made up of Houston County’s government leaders who meet to keep each other informed of what’s going on with the various entities in the cities and county.

Houston voters approved in November 2008 a one-year, half-mill property tax increase to pay for the warning system. The tax, which will expire June 30, 2010, is expected to generate $1.8 million.

The sirens are the final phase of the warning system, which also includes a voucher program for weather radios and a CodeRED emergency alert system.

Houston residents may pick up a $15 voucher for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios at the Houston County Commission office, located at 200 Carl Vinson Parkway in Warner Robins. The radios generally cost about $30.

In addition, residents may sign up for CodeRED phone and e-mail emergency alerts on any of the cities’ Web sites.

“The CodeRED and voucher program are full steam (ahead),” Williams said.

The sirens will have tonal and voice capabilities, and officials will have the ability to target alerts to certain areas of the county, Houston Commission Chairman Ned Sanders said.

The sirens and CodeRED will not be limited to weather alerts. They also could be used for other public notifications, such as a missing person or water main break.

Also at the meeting:

— Jay Flesher, owner of Hybrid Corp., gave an update on the construction of the Little League Southeastern Region headquarters on Snellgrove Drive, off Cohen Walker Drive. Construction is under way on the stadium and the administration building. Street lights are in the process of being installed, and the roadway is expected to be completed in mid-December, he said. The project comes with a $5.5 million price tag.

While recent rain has put the project’s site work behind, Flesher said, structurally the project is still on schedule. The fields should be ready for the Little League softball regional tournament at the end of July.

The stadium will hold about 5,000 people, Flesher said.

— Ted Will of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources gave an update on the Go Fish Georgia Center in Perry. The first phase of putting up the buildings and the ponds is complete, he said. The second phase, which involves designing and installing exhibits, will start “real soon,” he said.

Projected annual visitation at the center is about 80,000, he said.

The first two phases will cost about $18 million.

Information from The Telegraph’s archives was used in this report.

To contact writer Jennifer Burk, call 256-9705.