Springfield Township officials have applied for a grant from the state of Michigan to add an additional tornado warning siren.
Supervisor Collin Walls brought the proposal to the township board on Jan. 13, after learning of the grant program only the day before. The program provides successful applicants with 75 percent of the cost to install the siren, with Oakland County apparently ready to match the remaining 25 percent.
‘The end result is we could end up with a tornado siren at no cost to the Springfield Township taxpayer,? Walls said.
The township is currently served by four tornado warning sirens, but the extreme southeast corner of the township has none. Officials previously proposed to place a fifth on the site of the future fire station #3 at Farley and Andersonville roads, but Walls convinced the board to go with a site near Farley and Foster roads.
That site would cover almost all of Shepherd’s Hollow, Columbiere Center and all of the Robert Bruce subdivision. The half-mile ‘overflow? zone (where the siren may be heard under proper conditions) includes Andersonville Elementary School and the Oakland Technical Center-Northwest Campus.
‘It would cover almost all the populated areas that the other site wouldn’t pick up,? Walls said.
The proposed location would be a public utility pole in the road right-of-way, but officials said that situation exists with the current siren on Hillsboro.
Walls was honest about not counting on the grant.
‘It’s only $150,000 statewide, but it’s worth taking a shot,? he said.