STONE HARBOR – Stone Harbor Borough Council Nov. 17 discussed the future of the Stone Harbor Office of Emergency Management (OEM) siren, at 106th Street, specifically if it should be relocated or eliminated.
Councilman Frank Dallahan pointed to a request from a property owner who lives near the siren. Dallahan said there was discussion about relocating the device, but a tentative agreement to do so was never brought to council for approval. Once raised, the issue consumed the next 30 minutes of the council’s work session.
The siren, which is more of a broadcast device capable of delivering verbal messages about imminent weather threats, is part of the borough’s broader network of mechanisms for notifying residents and visitors about impending events and potential flooding.
While some on council pushed for better use of technology for communicating threats, the borough heard from OEM and fire officials, who expressed concern about eliminating the siren.
At issue, they warned, was the need to ensure notification to visitors who are unlikely to be part of the borough’s code red cell phone notification system.
With most members of the council expressing a desire to maintain the siren, the debate moved to its possible relocation. The issue was referred to the Public Safety Committee for details on potential locations.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour expressed skepticism that a location could be found that would not generate opposition to the siren in any of the borough’s neighborhoods.
