Allen Countians received advance warning of severe weather 40 times during 2012 by way of emergency telephone calls. COMMISSIONERS agreed to set in motion procedures to close three short roads giving access only to Terry McDonald’s property just east of Gas and north of U.S. 54.
Pam Beasley, emergency management director, gave county commissioners a review of the service at their meeting Tuesday morning.
This is third year of a five-year contract with CodeRED. Annual cost of $11,343.50 is split equally among emergency management, 911 dispatch and the sheriff’s department, each kicking in $3,781.17.
Of the charge, $7,781 is for CodeRED warnings, which have to do with alerts about missing people, criminal activities and the such, and the remainder for weather warnings.
CodeRED messages go to all telephone numbers in the county, unless the recipient has specifically opted out. Weather warnings, though, go just to people who have signed on.
Beasley noted that people who want to opt out of CodeRED or set up an account to receive weather warnings may do so by calling her office, 365-1437, or through the Internet at allencosheriff.org, allencounty.org or cityofiola.org.
Most of the county’s telephone numbers are in the CodeRED system while about 5,000 residents have subscribed to weather warnings.
While CodeRED mainly is used for emergencies, it also was used last year for voter notification prior to elections.
Beasley said the notification system constantly was being upgraded and that some additions might be made to Allen County’s inventory, including text messaging and having messages placed on bulletin boards for easy access by subscribers.
Sheriff Tom Williams, who will take a seat on the county commission next Tuesday, said CodeRED and weather message have been important tools for making Allen Countians safer.
McDonald asked for the closures to make his property more secure and accommodate a used car lot, which he said would open Monday.
McDonald said people riding four-wheel drive vehicles often used the roads, which he and neighbors found to be a nuisance.
Bill King, director of Public Works, said he was closer to proposing a card-reader system for access to fuel pumps adjacent to the county’s warehouse south of Iola near the old Lehigh Cement Co., property.
King said fueling had been done by employees, of his and other departments, on the honor system for years, but that a card-reader system would be more efficient and discourage thefts.
Warning system active in 2012
