Sirens, housing and more discussed at Salina City Commission meeting

Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
·2 min read
The City-County Building at 300 W. Ash St. where the Salina City Commission meets on Monday afternoons.
The City-County Building at 300 W. Ash St. where the Salina City Commission meets on Monday afternoons.

The Salina City Commission approved several measures on increasing housing, public safety and more at this week's meeting Monday.

The commission looked at resolutions and requests to assist ongoing housing development projects in the city, including the Lee Lofts along Santa Fe Avenue, and the South View Estates at the intersection of Ohio and Schilling Streets.

As part of the historical H.D. Lee Hardware buildings, the commission approved a request for phases two and three of Lee Lofts to be designated an Property of Exceptional Community Significance, which will make it eligible for 95% tax rebates for 15 years.

Additionally, the commission approved a resolution of support for South View Estates to submit a Kansas Housing Investor Tax Credit Application for just over $1 million.

As for public safety, the commission approved an upgrade to the 12 tornado sirens located within the city of Salina. These upgrades come after the city and Saline County upgraded its emergency communications radio network.

Capt. Paul Forrester with the Salina Police Department said the $34,321.68 approved by the city for radio upgrades on each siren will allow all the sirens to activate at the same time.

"The current system is on what is called a daisy-chain system," Forrester said. "When we go to set off the tornado sirens, it notifies one siren, which then in turn notifies the next siren, which then...notifies the next (one and so on)."

Forrester said the upgrades will have the signal go out to all the sirens at once, causing less of an opportunity for errors within the whole system.

Other issues discussed by the commission include the following:

  • Proclamations recognizing the week of May 21 to May 27, 2023 as National Public Works Week and the day of June 2, 2023 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the City of Salina.

  • Approval on second reading of ordinances approving a home rule ordinance reassessing certain special assessments in the River Trail Second Addition and to abandon and repeal the approved preliminary and final development plan for Pepper Tree Estates planned development district.

  • Awarding the bid for concrete improvements at various city parks to Seaton Construction Group in the amount of $168,123.50

  • Authorizing the mayor to execute an encroachment agreement and grant of easements among Storage Mart, LLC, the Salina Airport Authority and the city.

Finally, the commission will not meet during its regular scheduled time next Monday afternoon due to the Memorial Day holiday.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina Commission discusses housing, tornado sirens and more