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w~mld like the City to put in a siren that all of its neighbors have, and RT Electric is the Iow <br />bidder. They have a hard time understanding why the City would buy sirens that are not <br />working. Thcsc sirens arc designed to protect life and property, and the siren at site 9 has never <br />sounded. [ lc questioned why the City even went to bid, since RT Electric was the low bidder and <br />sm I'l' is recommending accepting a siren that has not been working. <br /> <br />I>olico Chiol' Way stated as far as the Federal 2001 sirens being widely used and all of Ramsey's <br />~cighbors using them, the City of Andover does use this same siren and has said all of their <br />sirens work. l lc stated American Signal provided a large list of areas where their sirens are used. <br />Regarding thc reports fi'om the county, the City of Ramsey used to receive these reports from <br />(icntral (iommunications, and when he became Police Chief he determined to quit working with <br />this c',,mpany because they were not providing adequate service for the cost to the City. The <br />c~)~npany continues to send the reports on the sirens. He explained staff checks the sirens <br />imticalcd on thc county report as having a failed system, and would find the sirens working as <br />rrxluired. Thc main concern is that when the activation button is hit that the siren goes off, and <br />tie is satisfied this is happening. He stated staff is aware of sirens that have not worked, and he <br />ma¢lc a decision not to put money into sirens during the winter months that he knew would be <br />replaced. Them is one siren that was not working due to an electrical problem on the site, which <br />has nothing to do with the siren. He stated Ramsey is relatively flat; the sirens are meant to be <br />t~card m~tdoors, and they have very good coverage in Ramsey. He explained his recommendation <br />is to accept thc bid from American Signal Corporation, even though it is not the low bid. The <br />City has replaced nine sirens since 2003 and at this time there are only two types of sirens. He <br />I'~eli it would bo casicr to maintain the sirens by only having one company to call for maintenance. <br /> <br />/~ resident at 15600 Nowthcn Boulevard stated regarding the Police Chief's statement that he did <br />noi want to spend money on the sirens during the winter, the repair is taken care of by the <br />contractc3r and there is no cost to the City. <br /> <br />(~(mncilmcmbcr F, lvig questioned if staff's inspection in the field showed that the sirens were <br />,,.v(~rking. I~olice Chief Way responded in the affirmative. <br /> <br />(;ouncilmember l]lvig indicated the only real concern he has is if there are some sirens that are <br /> that arc under warranty. <br /> <br />[>elite Chief Way indicated he can check site 9, which is under warranty. He explained he is not <br />concerned about the sirens working during the winter months. <br /> <br />('hairpcrson Strommen stated the Committee has heard the concerns that have been raised. Her <br />l)crspt~'ctive is that no one is more concerned about the safety of the residents in the City than the <br />¢'otmci 1, and she is going to trust the recommendation of the Police Chief. <br /> <br />'l'erry 1,ant, owner of American Signal Corporation, stated he has parts available from all of the <br />sirens that have been removed. Police Chief Way has asked him to save the parts in order to save <br />m~mey on new parts if any repairs are needed. He stated the fact that a siren did not activate is <br />not necessarily the fault of thc siren; if the radio does not activate the siren cannot run. <br /> <br />Finance Committee/April 12, 2005 <br /> Page 3 of 5 <br /> <br /> <br />