Malvern considers purchase of emergency siren

By Thomas Clapper

CCM Reporter

Malvern Village Council discussed purchasing an emergency siren at its May 6 meeting. 

Village Administrator Derik Kaltenbaugh said he spoke to commissioners regarding emergency sirens and Commissioner Chris Modranski said the cost is between $20,000-$22,000. 

“We know the commissioners are working on a grant but this could take a year, but I don’t think we should wait that long,” said Kaltenbaugh. 

“I agree, I think we should pursue it because we may get the grant and we may not,” said Mayor Bob DeLong. “I think we really need to do something as soon as possible.”

Kaltenbaugh said Modranski told him there is a chance they could be repaid by the grant if they purchase a siren now and still get the grant, but it isn’t 100%. Council is in favor and was prepared to make a motion right away.

“I am going to get a package together with the price and find out if we could get reimbursed as well,” said Kaltenbaugh. “I just think we should do this for the citizens of Malvern. For $20,000 you can’t put a price on somebody’s life. And it has been scary lately, there have been bad storms and tornado watches in the area.”

It then came up who would control the siren and make it go off and for what emergencies would it go off. Kaltenbaugh said for the safety and betterment of the people, it should include fire emergencies as well. 

“I know the relationship with us, and the fire department isn’t always the best, but to save lives is above all of that stuff,” said Kaltenbaugh. He said he will find out who controls that, but he thinks 911 at the sheriff’s office could just push a button to make the siren go off in Malvern. 

In an unrelated matter, council decided to move their money to Consumers National Bank after entertaining other offers. 

“We should keep it local and convenient,” said Councilman Jan Wackerly. 

Council planned to keep it local but accepted offers as a courtesy. 

In other business, council:

-HEARD Kaltenbaugh report on village maintenance such as waterleaks and a broken watermain fixed and side streets are patched. He said they will investigate the lights being out at the track in the park. He thinks the timer might be malfunctioning and the lights need a solar eye instead of a timer. 

-APPROVED a motion to fix the clock in town not to exceed $6,000. 

-HEARD six vendors are registered for the Malvern Village Park market so far. Items including breads, eggs, fudge and more will join vegetables and other items. The Malvern Market is set to be held each Wednesday, from June 26 to Oct. 16, 3:30-7 p.m. at the village park.

-APPROVED and adopted two roadway use and maintenance agreements, Resolution 2024-6, for Horizontal Drilling Projects and Infrastructure with EOG Resources, Inc., and authorizing the mayor to sign the agreements on behalf of the Village of Malvern. Any damage to the roads included in the agreement is covered and repaired by the company, not the village. 

The roads include 725 feet of Wicker Rd., 200 feet of Citrus Rd., 0.1 miles of Bluebird Rd., 0.3 miles of Robertsville Rd., 0.1 miles of North Reed Ave., 0.4 miles of Wood St. and 0.15 miles of Township Road 220 (Lee Rd. NW) and for the purpose of ingress to and egress from the Blackbird Pipeline. 

-APPROVED a resolution authorizing Mayor DeLong to apply for, accept and enter into a water supply revolving loan account on behalf of the Village of Malvern for construction of Phase 2 Waterline Replacement Project and designating a dedicated repayment source for the loan.

-PAID the village bills of $35,110.27 pre-approved by the Finance Committee on April 30 and $4,132.87 on May 6; also $10,024.23 in payroll pre-approved and paid April 25 and $8,943.35 on May 9. 

The next regular council meeting will be held May 20, 7 p.m. at Village Hall.