On Thursday night, the Sedalia City Council approved an amendment to the Capital Improvements Fund to purchase a new tornado warning siren and move three existing sirens at a total cost of $30,547.75.

The Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday due to the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday on Monday, but was was pushed back to Thursday due to the sudden death of Second Ward Councilman Russell Driskell.

The three sirens are being relocated to improve the coverage within the city limits, it was noted at the previous Council meeting. Council members heard a presentation from Bruce Fisher, sales consultant with Blue Valley Public Safety, Inc., (Grain Valley), on Jan. 7. Moving three sirens will cost the City $7,200.

According to City Administrator Kelvin Shaw, Council was asked to take action on the matter now, rather than wait until next budget year, to address the issue as quickly as possible.

The new siren will be purchased from Federal Signal Safety and Security Systems, University Park, Ill., and the location of the new siren will be in the area of Oak Grove Lane, north of Menard's.

Fisher noted that it will take 6 to 8 weeks before the new siren arrives and about a week to 10 days to install it. All sirens sit atop a Class 2 pole, 45 feet in the air, he added.

Tornado season officially starts March 1.

More From AM 1050 KSIS