Perry City Council meets for first time following damaging tornado

By Jordyn Burrell

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    PERRY, Michigan (WNEM) — A City Council meeting was held in Perry Thursday, the first since the city was hit by an EF-1 tornado less than a week prior.

Mayor Sue Hammond said it was the first time the city had to give a post-tornado report to its residents – and hopefully the last.

The National Weather Service classified the tornado as EF-1, producing winds of up to 95 mph. One of the first things the tornado hit was the city’s emergency sirens.

Officials are assessing a location for a replacement siren.

“We could call it a new siren, but it is really replacing what was destroyed Friday night,” said Chief of Police Kyle Bawks. “Going to find an optimal place for that.”

The replacement will be funded by the city’s insurance money. The replacement sire will have new technology that would connect to all sirens in Shiawassee County, something the other siren did not have.

“To connect all of the sirens so that they can be triggered remotely by a warning or some other way so that it is not up to each individual entity that owns the siren,” Bawks said.

The tower for the replacement siren has already been picked out, but it’s unsure when the installation will begin or be completed.

In the meantime, residents are urged to download Smart 911, an alert system that’s used across the county, to stay informed.

Hammond is hoping to have a fund created so that people can donate to help rebeautify the city, as insurance does not cover beautification costs.

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