Junction City and Perryville will be receiving new outdoor warning sirens — each costing about $25,000 — thanks to a Federal Emergency Management Performance Grant.

Boyle County Emergency Management Director Mike Wilder said when he applied for the 50% matching federal grant, which is allocated funding unused by county programs during the 2018 fiscal year, he had written the application for a project to purchase and install two new sirens, but realistically thought he’d only receive one. He was happily surprised when he learned on Tuesday that his request for the entire project — totaling $49,258 — was approved.

The grant will reimburse the county for half of that amount, $24,629.

“That’s like getting two for the price of one,” Wilder said.

At noon on the first Friday of every month, Wilder’s office conducts a county-wide test of all 19 emergency warning sirens. Area first responders then call into dispatch and report if their siren went off, he said.

Junction City’s and Perryville’s sirens, which are located near each of the city halls, are more than 30 years old, and have been not functioning properly for some time, Wilder said, which is why they need to be replaced.

Wilder said the cost of nearly $25,000 per siren, which is activated from the dispatch center, “is not just for a siren. It’s the controls too. Installation and wiring is pretty complex.”