Sirens to be decommissioned in town, promotion of “Amherstburg Alert” to be conducted

By Ron Giofu

The siren system once used as a public notification in case of a nuclear event will be decommissioned.

Town council directed administration to proceed with the decommissioning of the ATI siren system and that equipment and poles be removed from all siren sites.

According to a report from fire chief Bruce Montone said the public alerting system with the five siren sites were purchased in June 2013 for the then-primary zone with council reducing the size of the primary zone from 23 km to 16.1 km in May 2017. Montone stated the town has 155 identified addresses for notification on Boblo, though none can hear any of the sirens reliably. There are 388 identified addresses in zone one including homes in Amherst Point and Bar Point.

“Although many of the households in the southeast quadrant of the zone can hear notifications, there is a large gap in the North-west quadrant that cannot hear existing siren site #5 and would require an additional site to ensure notifications. If we include the future properties currently under development or soon to be, within the Primary Zone (Detailed Planning Zone) a total of 743 properties for required nuclear notification purposes need to be addressed by the municipality. This would require three additional sites be added to the system,” said Montone in his report.

Current siren sites are at 195 Texas Road, near 2070 North Side Road, H. Murray Smith Centennial Park at 209 Victoria St. S., 2568 Fryer St. and just south of 3857 Concession 3 South.

The report also stated: “The reliability and audibility of the current Siren System is dependent on many factors, including weather (temperature, wind speed and direction), and proximity of residents in relation to the siren sites. Also audibility will depend on where residents are situated in their homes – i.e. inside or outside and whether there is any background noise e.g. yard equipment, traffic, music playing etc. Residents and staff have reported regularly that sirens cannot or have not been heard confirming the short comings of the system. Our community’s safety is our top concern and we want to make sure residents know about emergencies and incidents as they happen.”

The option recommended and subsequently approved by council also calls for the continuation of the “Amherstburg Alerts” mass notification system, which Montone estimated has roughly 10,765 registered contacts from the town. It also calls for the enhancement of a public education program regarding resident readiness for the first 72 hours of an emergency, the promotion of the “Amherstburg Alert” system, a door-to-door campaign to homes within the “detailed planning zones” and recycling of materials from the sirens.

“The sirens were established to notify people in the primary zone,” Montone told council.

Boblo residents are included in the primary zone due to the possibility of evacuation in case of an emergency.

Tender approved

Town council approved a tender from Shepley Road

Maintenance for tar and chip work on five area roadways.

The tender came in at $212,745, including net HST, with manager of roads and fleet Eric Chamberlain stating the town received one submission that was processed electronically via the town’s bids and tenders system.

Mayor Michael Prue noted the tender came in under budget, as town council had set aside $290,000.

“In review of the tender price, the contractor advised that reduction of price was connected to lower fuel and oil prices,” Chamberlain’s report stated.

Work will be done on Concession 5 South from County Road 20 to South Side Road, the east “dog leg” on Alma St., Concession 9 South at the approach at Alma St. and the Malden-Colchester Townline at the approach at Smith Road.

Lighting at DQ

Prue said he has “no objection to the opening of Dairy Queen at all” but questioned the lighting on the building, based on photos provided by neighbour Robert Guitard. He asked staff if lumens of the lighting on the building could be turned down.Deputy CAO/director of development services Melissa Osborne said administration can look at the matter. She said that area of site plan control is based on recommendations of the Windsor Police Service. She said the site could be attended by town staff and police if they are not consistent with recommendations.

“There are many things that can happen with lights,” said Prue, with Osborne saying the lights were approved by the heritage committee.

“I have no question the structure is built very, very well,” said Guitard. “The issue is quality of life next door.”

Franchise owner Kurt Barr told the RTT they have worked with Guitard and are willing to continue to resolve any issue. He said they have put in fencing and landscaping to try and mitigate issues and exterior lighting has been engineered to try and avoid lighting neighbouring properties.

“We will continue to work with him and find ways to satisfy him,” said Barr. “We are reasonable.”

Surplus lands

The town has formally declared a portion of lands at 320 Richmond St. as surplus. The lands are behind what is now known as the Amherstburg Community Hub, formerly St. Bernard School, and are along Victoria St. S. The lands are now residential first density in the town’s Official Plan. Two residential lots will be created.

Deputy Fire Chiefs

Town council formally passed a bylaw during the July 10 meeting affirming Ron Meloche and Dan Monk to the positions of deputy fire chief. Councillor Diane Pouget said she “has absolutely nothing against” the two people but she believed the process was unfair.

“It’s only fair to advertise within the department,” she said. “The reason it’s unfair is it is precedent setting and I believe it contributes to low morale within the department.”