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Walnut Grove staff recommend Code Red-style system after vendor demos
Summary
City staff reviewed four mass-notification vendors — Code Red (referred to in meeting as Code Red/COBRA), CivicPlus, UpAhead and TextMyGov — and recommended a Code Red–type product for its longevity, ADA features and lower follow-up costs; council agreed to place the item on the council meeting agenda for formal action.
City staff presented four proposals for a new mass-notification system during a Walnut Grove work session, recommending a Code Red–style product because of its longevity in the emergency-notification sector and built-in ADA support.
The staff presentation, led by Joe Walter, the city clerk, summarized that CivicPlus, UpAhead, TextMyGov and Code Red (referred to in the presentation variously as “COBRA”/Code Red) offered similar services — voice, text and email alerts, templates and administration — but differed on price, ADA compliance and reference clients. Walter said Code Red’s follow-up pricing declined in later years and that the vendor had long experience “developed by emergency management professionals.” He also noted that Code Red had local references in nearby Newton County.
Walter told the council that CivicPlus had the most feature-rich platform but would be “outside of our price range,” and that UpAhead appeared to be a newer startup with fewer local references. He said TextMyGov offered bundling advantages because the city already uses related software.
“Code Red actually reduced, following years,” Walter said, adding the vendor’s administrative interface includes templates and controls to reduce user error and an ADA-compliant presentation layer.
Council members asked how residents would enroll. Walter described opt-in and opt-out approaches: companies may have some phone numbers from public records and can send a one-time opt-in text to those numbers; the city could also promote sign-up through its website and on the home page with a pop-up. He said the city planned to limit administrative access to three staff members and cross-train them. “It would be me, city clerk. We would limit access,” Walter said.
Council members raised practical questions about reach, business sign-ups and whether employees or out-of-city users would count toward vendor pricing. Walter said most vendors price by cap (the staff used 2,500 as an example) and some count addresses rather than individual phones.
The presentation included a brief operational discussion of edge cases: landlines receive voice calls; cellphones receive texts and email; and if infrastructure is down (power or broadband), officials would still rely on first-responder outreach. Walter told council members the new system would be paid from the city’s technology budget, not from a direct user fee.
Council agreed to put the mass-notification procurement on the agenda for the next council meeting for formal action and vendor selection.
What’s next: The council will consider the formal procurement and contract at its upcoming meeting, after staff confirms final pricing, the exact vendor name and contract terms.
