Silent tests and NWS alerts: Macon approves over $2.7 million for weather sirens
Macon-Bibb County plans to spend almost $3 million on new emergency weather sirens to replace an aging system, according to a resolution approved by commissioners Tuesday.
The new technology will allow for silent testing, live coordination with the National Weather Service and backup communication options, according to records from the Georgia Procurement Registry.
“The existing weather system predates consolidation and is in need of significant upgrades and renovations,” the resolution said. The city of Macon and Bibb County unified as Macon-Bibb County in 2014.
The county’s 83 existing sirens will be replaced with a “focus on outdoor gathering locations… for large groups of people (like) Downtown, Atrium Health Amphitheater, Amerson River Park, Carolyn Creighton Park, etc.,” the resolution said.
Sirens are scattered across Macon, with most in the city’s south side, according to a list of their locations from the Georgia Procurement Registry. They’re typically installed near fire stations, schools, community centers, churches, neighborhoods and large roadways.
The county will pay over $2.7 million to Federal Signal Corporation, a Delaware-based public safety technology manufacturer with customers worldwide, according to its website. FSC’s warning systems business, which is based in Illinois, will lead the project and has built audio and visual warning devices for over 100 years.
It’ll use funds from the 2025 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which uses a penny from most purchases.
Modern tech
The new system will allow for silent routine testing “minimizing public disruption while verifying system functionality,” a record said by the Georgia Procurement Registry said.
The Bibb County Emergency Management Agency will have a “central control system” with “backup options” for communication by radio and phone, the records said.
Automatic sirens will go off when the NWS issues certain alerts such as tornado warnings, according to procurement documents.
FSC was one of three companies to submit proposals for the project by May 29, the records said.