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Umatilla staff review public-alert options after recent emergencies; county coordination limited
Summary
City staff told the council the city is evaluating three public-alert platforms — SaferWatch, CivicPlus and Everbridge — with initial costs estimated at $10,000–$20,000 and annual maintenance. The council discussed opt-in approaches, targeting geographies and non-digital notification gaps such as door-to-door protocols.
City Manager David Stockdale told the Umatilla City Council on Jan. 7 that staff are evaluating public-alert platforms to fill gaps identified after emergency incidents last year.
Stockdale said staff have draft policy language and demonstrations scheduled for three platforms: SaferWatch, CivicPlus and Everbridge. He told the council the systems offer functionality the city lacks now, such as reverse-9-1-1 capabilities, geofencing (drawing target areas) or radius-based alerts, and a smartphone app opt-in model. Stockdale estimated initial software costs in the $10,000–$20,000 range and said each vendor also requires an annual maintenance agreement.
Councilors and residents raised access concerns for people who do not use electronic communications. Stockdale said the city’s emergency protocols include door-to-door notification as an option but that the city has not previously activated that level of outreach; the last comprehensive refresh of the emergency protocol documents was noted as Feb. 2019 and staff intend to update the plan as they implement a public-alert system.
Stockdale also noted that one currently available option would require cooperation with the county to get full access. He said Everbridge has been used in the past for evacuation notices during fires but that county control of parts of that system can limit the city’s independent ability to push messages in all circumstances.
Councilors asked staff to consider: the ability to target neighborhoods (for example “just McNary or just South Hill”), opt-in/opt-out choices for residents, inclusion of instructions to “check on neighbors” within alert messages, and ways to reach non-digital populations (mailers, QR codes on utility bills and other outreach). Staff said they will return with a draft policy and vendor recommendations in the coming quarter.
No formal procurement decision was made at the meeting; council direction was to continue vendor demos and bring a policy and recommendation back for consideration.
