Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - Press releases and newspaper articles on Eagan's emergency preparedness systems. - 1/1/1978Patch T/
Transfer Patch
Ete,If
- I :11r1 -1
1
,ram —°
° rl �•
°
Ls
Sirens
Eagan plans to beef up j y'�
outdoor warning system
By BRENDA HAUGEN
Eagan officials plan to beef
up the city's siren system in
light of the May 19 storm and
concerns from residents who
say they didn't hear the warn-
ing sirens.
City staff has looked at the
system in the days since
straight-line winds cut through
(Continued from front page)
powered, at least we do have a
backup, on those four, to the
electric," said City Adminis-
trator Tom Hedges.
The city's present siren sys-
tem is run on electricity, and
there is no backup. According
to Police Chief Pat Geagan,
the May 19 storm caused
power outages on Dakota Elec-
tric's system at the same time
et
found is that the city has seen
significant development in the
last 14 years, but the last siren
installation was in 1982.
The City Council directed "l
staff June 4 to proceed with a
bidding process to add four
outdoor, battery -operated sirens
to the city's present system.
"Because they are battery
(See Sirens, p.6A)
a,A 14ujOr
within minutes of when the
outdoor warning sirens were
activated in Eagan. The result
was that some sirens didn't
sound at all or ran only for a
short period of time before los-
ing power, Geagan said.
The proposed locations for
the new sirens are the Diffley
and Lexington area; the Lex-
ington and Yankee Doodle
Road area; Johnny Cake Ridge
Road just south of Diffley
Road; and at the intersection
of Blue Cross Road and Ash -
bury Road on the Sky Hill Park
site. According to a report by
Geagan, placing sirens at these
sites "will bring warning serv-
ice to the greatest number of
people who are currently out-
side of the coverage radius of
(See Sirens, p.21A)
l
Sirens v �"S
1t1�( G f q l46
New sirens
to fill gaps
in
coverage
Four more will suAdt
serve as backup Cti'Q'
during outages
By Sue Hegarty
Staff Writer
Good news may come from
last month's severe thunder-
storm which knocked out electri-
cal power and felled trees across
Eagan.
When the storm struck at
1:20 a.m. May 19, many resi-
dents might have been awak-
ened by the sound of the outdoor
warning sirens. There was one
problem though. The eight
sirens in the city are powered by
electricity, and as luck would
have it, the power outages swept
through the city about the same
time as the sirens' first blare.
This prompted the Eagan Po-
lice Department and the City
Council to step up plans to im-
prove siren coverage, one year
SIRENS: To Page 16A
(Continued)
the existing sirens."
But officials still remind
residents that the sirens are
designed as an outdoor warning
system. The sirens , are not
made to wake deep sleepers or
alert people whose windows
are closed and air conditioning
and fans are running. A system
that would accomplish that for
every resident is virtually im-
possible, Hedges said, explain-
ing that the sirens would then
be too loud for those living
nearest to them.
At present the city has eight
outdoor warning sirens. Half of
these were added to the system
in 1982 and were considered
state-of-the-art at the time,
Geagan said. They also pro-
vided adequate coverage for
the populated areas of Eagan
as they existed at that time, he
said.
According to Geagan's re-
port, when the four newly pro-
posed sirens are in place, "the
additional sites will leave an
extremely small part of the
city outside of the recom-
mended coverage radius of the
sirens."
Eagan officials plan to beef
up the city's siren system in
light of the May 19 storm and
concerns from residents who
say they didn't hear the warn-
ing sirens.
City staff has looked at the
system in the days since
straight-line winds cut through
the community. What they've
Eagan plans
to
beef up �►
outdoor warning(�`
ve-
By BRENDA HAUGEN system
found is that the city has seen
significant development in the
last 14 years, but the last siren
installation was in 1982.
The City Council directed
staff June 4 to proceed with a
bidding process to add four
outdoor, battery -operated sirens
to the city's present system,
"Because they are battery
(See Sirens, p.6A)
Sirens ............. .....
a�
�a
(Continued from front pace)cg within minutes of when the
powered, at least we do have a
backup, on those four, to the
electric," said City Adminis-
trator Tom Hedges:
The city's present siren sys-
tem is run on electricity, and
there is no backup. According
to Police lh9ief storm Pat ea Geagan,
the May
used
power outages on Dakota Elec-
tric's system at the same time
outdoor warning sirens were
activated in Eagan. The result
was that some sirens didn't
sound at all or ran only for a
short period of time before los-
ing power, Geagan said.
The proposed locations for
the new sirens are the Diffley
the Lex-
and Lexington area;
ington and Yankee Doodle
Road area; Johnny Cake Ridge (See Sirens, p.21A)
Road just south of Diffley
Road; and at the intersection
of Blue Cross Road and Ash -
bury Road on the Sky Hill Park
site. According to a report by
Geagan, placing sirens at these
sites "will bring
rning serv-
number of
ice to the greatest
people who are currently out-
side of the coverage radius of
PRESS RELEASE
The City Council is recognizing two (2) new full time
positions. Barbara Schmidt was appointed Park Director
and will receive a salary of $1,300 per month. Ms. Schmidt
has been acting in the capacity of part time Park Director.
Mr. Douglas Reid, a CETA employee, was appointed to the position
of full time Fire Marshal -Civil Defense Director and Assistant
Building Inspector to be effective during the early part of
1978. His salary will be $1,300 per month. A Zoning Aid
position (funding by CETA) was approved during 1977. Mr.
Dale Runkle was hired to fill that position at a monthly
salary of $1,100, to be effective January 1, 1978.
##########
Apple Valley/Rosemount, Eagan Sun•Current/Wednesday, Dec. 29, 1999 5
City of Eagan
Y2K
Reminder
1 The City of Eagan has inventoried and
tested all of its systems for Y2K readi-
ness and has found no failures.
1 We have worked closely with other
agencies which provide service to the
community and they too state that they
are ready and able to provide service
through the change into the new year
and beyond.
1 The City is committed to protecting the public health, safety and welfare
above all else and has therefore created a Y2K contingency plan, based
on the City's Emergency Preparedness Plan which has served success-
fully through several severe storms and other community emergencies.
1 We encourage residents to prepare their homes and families as they
would for a storm or other temporarily disruptive situation.
1 High volumes of telephone usage can overload phone systems. We
discourage "testing" phone service and encourage limiting phone usage
during the change -over into the new year.
1 We ask that the public use 9-1-1 only for police, fire or medical emer-
gencies throughout this period. Non emergency assistance will be
available throughout the day and evening on Friday, December 31, until
approximately 12:30 a.m. (or as needed) on January 1, by calling the
Municipal Center at 651-681-4600 (TDD for the hearing impaired, 651-454-
8535). The Maintenance Facility can be reached for non -police emer-
gency, City related maintenance needs at 651-681-4300 and will be
staffed from 11:30 p.m. on December 31, to 12:30 a.m. (or as needed)
on January 1.
1 If during this time you require emergency assistance and are unable to
access 9-1-1 emergency assistance through usual means, staff will be
located at the following locations to access emergency assistance:
Eagan Fire Station #1 3940 Rahn Rd.
Eagan Fire Station #2 2980 Lone Oak Cr.
Eagan Fire Station #3
Eagan Fire Station #4
Eagan Fire Station #5
Police Station
Maintenance Facility
4290 Pilot Knob Rd.
4200 Dodd Rd.
4701 Galaxie Ave.
3830 Pilot Knob Rd.
3501 Coachman Rd.
I In the event of a power failure, the City is able to manually operate all of
its water and sewer utility operations and does not anticipate a disruption
of these services.
1 If traffic signals are disrupted due to loss of power or system failure, they
should be treated as 4-way stops and general right-of-way rules applied.
1 Street Maintenance operations should not be affected by Y2K. If neces-
sary, staff will perform snow and ice control operations.
1 Again, the City and its supporting utility suppliers do not anticipate an
inability to supply products and services, but contingency plans must be
made to anticipate any system failures which could potentially impact
residents. This plan relies in part on the services of the Red Cross and
the Salvation Army to provide emergency shelters if necessary.
1 To the best of our knowledge the City's systems are Year 2000 ready.
Although we are like any other business and cannot make guarantees,
we are confident that we will be able to continue to provide uninterrupted
public services to our citizens and interested parties through the change
to the new millennium. What we can assure you is that the City will
remain committed to the public health, safety and welfare.
Have a Safe & Happy New Year!
Mayor Patricia Awada
Councilmember Paul Bakken Councilmember Bea Blomquist
Councilmember Peggy Carlson Councilmember Sandra Masin
\�1
VILLAGE OF EAGAN
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION URGING ESTABLISHMENT OF A
COMMON CIVIL DEFENSE ORGANIZATION FOR
DAKOTA COUNTY
WHEREAS, municipal Civil Defense organizations have been
inactive on a local basis in recent years; and
WHEREAS, volunteer directors at the local level have not
had the time or community support to develop good organizations; and
WHEREAS, because of lack of volunteer time and community
support, disaster preparedness plans have not been developed, either
locally or on a county level; and
WHEREAS, such lack of efforts has deprived Dakota County
municipalities from participation in Federal Assistance Programs; and
WHEREAS, a common Civil Defense organization at the county
level would afford a more practical and uniform coordinating plan
for the local Civil Defense Units, which in turn would provide more
uniform emergency service to Dakota County citizens; and
WHEREAS, there is a legal basis for a common Civil Defense
organization; and
WHEREAS, this common Civil Defense organization should have
a paid staff director who could coordinate all local and county efforts;
NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the Village Council
of the Village of Eagan that the Village Council hereby requests the
County Commissioners to establish such a common Civil Defense
organization; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the director and associated
programming receive Federal Certification at the earliest time in order
to:
a. Have an operable Disaster Preparedness Plan;
b. Allow municipalities to participate in applicable
Federal Assistance Programs.
Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of Eagan this 15 day May, 1973.
ATTEST: VILLAGE COUNCIL
VILLAGE OF EAGAN
d/7„ C_
Village Clerk -Treasurer
FROM: CITY OF EAGAN
CONTACT: DOUG REID, CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTOR, 454-8100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The City of Eagan will be participating in Minnesota's ,rpcoming "Tornado
Awareness Week" March 28 - April 3, 1982. On Thursday, April 1, 1982,
at 1:30 p.m. the City of Eagan will sound its sirens (the "alert" or steady
signal) for one minute. If weather causes a delay, the alternate date will
be Friday, April 2, 1982, at 1:00 p.m. The City of Fagan recommends that
residents take a few minutes at that time to review procedures in the event
of a tornado. A few items to remember in the event of a tornado are:
AT BOME - Go to the basement. Take cover under a sturdy workbench or table
(but not underneath heavy appliances on the floor above) . If no
basement, take cover under heavy furniture in the center of the
house. STAY AWAY FRO WINDOWS. DO NOT REMAIN IN A TRAILER OR
MOBILE Imo. leek shelter inside the nearest permanent structure,
preferably in basement, underground excavation, or a steel -framed
or reinforced concrete building.
AT WORK - In an office building, go to the basement or an inner hallway on
a lower floor. In a factory, go to a shelter area, or to the base-
ment if there is one.
AT SCHOOL - Go to the basement or an inner hallway on a lower floor. If
building is of reinforced construction, stay inside. AVOID AUDI-
TORIUMS, GYMNASIUMS, OR LARGE AREAS with poorly supported roofs.
IN OPEN COUNTRY - Move away from the tornado's path at a right angle. If there
is no time to escape, lie flat in the nearest depression,
such as a ditch or ravine.
-30-
3-25-82