Kane County emergency management proposes 'Disaster Ready Kane', weighs new mass-notification vendor and shows new mobile command vehicle

Kane County emergency management on Thursday proposed a countywide disaster recovery committee, said the county’s long-running mass-notification platform is not meeting needs and showed photographs of a new mobile command vehicle now in production.

The disaster-recovery concept, working-titled “Disaster Ready Kane,” would coordinate short- and long-term post-disaster functions such as mass care and temporary sheltering, damage assessment, debris removal and volunteer coordination, Emergency Management Director Scott (no last name given) told the Judicial and Public Safety Committee. “We’re really good at responding to emergencies and disasters, but helping lots and lots of people after disaster is difficult,” he said.

The county’s current mass-notification vendor, Code Red, has been in use roughly 20 years and costs the county about $37,000 annually, Scott said. He told the committee the opt‑in public database contains many outdated phone numbers and yields a low connect rate when messages are sent. “When we do send a message, we have a very low success rate,” he said, and last year the success rate for external messages fell to roughly 17 percent in some uses. Scott told the committee the Code Red contract expires in December and that the county must notify the vendor by Aug. 18 if it intends to cancel.

County staff are evaluating alternatives that include HyperReach and Regroup, both of which the director said offer modern opt‑in interfaces, sub‑administration for departments and lower projected costs. Scott said the two alternatives’ estimated annual costs would be below the county’s current payment; depending on usage, he presented estimates around $17,000–$19,000 a year versus the current roughly $37,000. He recommended additional demos with departments before bringing a purchasing recommendation to the committee in July.

The committee also heard that the county is establishing a disaster-recovery leadership group, with a leadership meeting scheduled July 15 and a larger stakeholder meeting in August. Scott said the group is intended to tap faith-based and nonprofit partner capacity already present in the county to help with sheltering, donations management and debris cleanup following storms or apartment fires.

Separately, Scott showed photos of a mobile command vehicle replacing a 2006 Winnebago the county has operated for years. He said the older vehicle is difficult to maintain because the original manufacturer no longer makes parts for the leveling and slide-out systems. The replacement vehicle, funded with ARPA dollars, is in production and undergoing wiring and interior outfitting; Scott said contractors estimated about five miles of cable will be installed in the unit.

Committee members asked about relying primarily on cell‑tower‑based alerting and on options to improve opt‑in lists through voter-roll or tax-bill mailings; Scott said IPAWS-based alerts (federal emergency alerts) remain an important backstop but lack the richer messaging and staff-targeting features other vendors provide. He said county staff plan targeted outreach and administrative controls to keep department contact lists current.

The committee did not take formal action Thursday; staff said they will schedule demos with departments this month and present a procurement recommendation in July.