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Efforts to resurrect the noon whistle in Granville have hit a dead end.
Mayor Jay Niles last week informed the board that inquiries into possibly bringing back the long-silent noon whistle and fire siren will cease after an approximate figure for the replacement of the nostalgic favorite sound of some residents proved to be far too costly.
“We asked Russ Bronson to investigate the prices of a siren that could be used for that purpose, “Niles said later.
The base cost for a siren just capable of going off at the same time as firefighters’ beepers was between $3,000 and $5,000.
A second option could have cost as much as $10,000 for the siren and both options also carried an installation cost of between $2,000 and $3,000.
Niles said the combined cost was simply too high for the effort to move forward, but the board felt compelled to respond to requests received from constituents.
“We don’t need it for civil defense and it’s simply too much money to be spending out of the village budget. Folks brought it up and we came up with this conclusion,” Niles said. The siren’s approximate $10,000 cost was equal to about a 1 percent increase in the tax levy. Niles said he was sure residents would understand if the village did not take the effort any further.
“That would one percent on the tax rate and we can’t do that and be fiscally responsible,” Niles said.
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