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Pacific to switch to Code Red mass-notification system Sept. 29, officials say
Summary
City staff told the Board of Aldermen the new emergency mass-notification system (Code Red) will replace Regroup on Sept. 29, and will add geofencing, IPAWS access and expanded databases of phone numbers; officials urged residents to enroll and provide an address.
The City of Pacific will switch its emergency mass-notification service from Regroup to a Code Red product on Sept. 29, Director Shulman said at the Sept. 16 Board of Aldermen meeting. The change will automatically port about 1,176 existing Regroup contacts into the new system and give the city additional tools including geofencing, automatic National Weather Service triggers and access to IPAWS alerts.
The move matters because Code Red will allow more-targeted alerts to specific streets or subdivisions and a broader reach for high‑severity events, Director Shulman said. He urged residents to sign up and to include at least one street address, one phone number and one email so the city can use geofencing effectively.
Shulman described the scale of available contact data: about 1,176 existing opt‑in records; roughly 4,800 purchased public residential and business phone numbers for the immediate Pacific area; and a Franklin County package that currently contains about 65,300 numbers countywide, with roughly 4,800 associated with Pacific. He said the city is also analyzing 2,100 water/sewer billing records and 2,378 Franklin County personal property tax records to augment contact lists.
Among new features staff highlighted are: geofencing keyed to registered street addresses so alerts can target a single industrial park or subdivision; automatic triggers from the National Weather Service for tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and extreme heat warnings; the ability to send IPAWS messages that go directly to cell phones for the most serious incidents; and a user interface that makes it easier for residents to register and manage contact details.
Shulman emphasized that the system offers graduated outreach: normal alerts to opt‑in contacts, larger alerts to purchased public numbers, and IPAWS for the most severe incidents. "For everyone, and I do mean everyone, to ensure that they take responsibility for their own emergency readiness, awareness, and plans to address the unexpected," he said, urging residents to enroll and to test the system during the week of Sept. 28. He added that any test messages “will clearly state that it is related to a test.”
Board members asked whether door‑to‑door notifications by public works would be affected; Shulman and Public Works Commissioner Bergman said in-person notification practices would continue where necessary and would be coordinated with the new digital alerts. Shulman also warned that not all features would be used for every activation to avoid alert fatigue.
The city will complete the initial port of existing contacts first and then incorporate additional data sources as records are cleaned and formatted, Shulman said. He invited residents to enroll immediately and pointed to instructions in the city newsletter and on the Pacific Missouri Emergency Management Agency Facebook page.
