Lake Twp.: New tornado siren installed

A new tornado siren has been installed in Lake Township along Latcha Road near I-280, bringing coverage for the southeast portion of the township, Richard Welling, a township trustee, said.
“It’s been tested and is operational,” he said.
Welling said a siren at the site would benefit residents in the southern portion of the township, which has no siren south of State Rt. 795.
Three other sirens are located in the Village of Walbridge at Loop Park, along E. Broadway in the Moline area and at the fire station on Ayers Road near the Village of Millbury.
Mark Hummer, township police chief, said U.S. Utilities Contractor Co., Genoa Road, provided labor free of charge to install electrical service to the siren and personnel from the FirstEnergy Lakewood Service Center, Lemoyne Road, also assisted with the installation.
Hummer said the truckstops and other businesses along I-280 would especially benefit from the siren’s coverage.
“There are about 1,000 a trucks a night in that area and they are not in a structure. So that should give adequate warning to them and the southeast corner of the township. It will also help in Troy Township where there is a trailer court on Truman Road,” he said.
Welling and Hummer said the southwest corner of Lake Township isn’t reached by the township’s sirens but there is a siren in Perrysburg Township on U.S. 20 that reaches into that corner.
“It’s a directional siren that goes all the way around,” Hummer said.
He estimated the cost of Lake Township’s new siren at about $22,000.

Officers to be hired
Chief Hummer said he plans to hire two more patrol officers before the end of the year.
Currently, the township department has three sergeants, 14 full-time officers and four part-time officers.
“I’d like to see us at 16 full-time officers,” the chief said.
He plans to meet with the township fiscal officer to review the department’s budget for the second half of the year.
“There is a lot of activity that is happening on State Rt. 795 and I think it is going to be the growth corridor for this region. I want to be ready for growth between I-75 and I-280 over the next five years,” the chief said. “We don’t want to be playing catch up. We want to be in place to make it safe to travel.”
FirstSolar plans to open a new production facility at the corner of Rt. 795 and Tracy Road later this year.