Evansville Board of Public Works approves mass-notification contract, shelter roof repairs, road closure and multiple engineering change orders

EVANSVILLE — The Evansville City Board of Public Works on Aug. 7 approved a series of routine and project-specific items including a new mass-notification software contract, a contract amendment to fix the roof at a local shelter, an emergency road closure for repairs and multiple engineering change orders.

Board members approved a one-year contract with Reach Alert LLC to replace the city’s previous mass-notification provider (Code Red). Staff said moving to Reach Alert reduces the city and county cost by about $15,000; the annual contract amount presented to the board was $4,950. The software will be used for phone calls, texts and emails; staff said the service has a 25,000-message annual limit and the city sends far fewer messages (roughly dozens per year). The city’s human-resources and information-technology staff and the building authority use the system for employee benefits notices, network outage alerts and emergency notifications such as tornado warnings.

The board approved a $25,000 letter-of-engagement with the law firm Dentons at the request of the City of Evansville Human Relations office. City staff said the Human Relations office will ask Dentons to analyze how state and federal executive orders could affect local enforcement of employment and fair‑housing provisions tied to two federal grants the city receives.

The board also approved an amendment to Echo Housing Corporation’s 2024 CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) contract relating to Lucas Place, a local shelter. The amendment expands the 2024 CDBG scope to allow roof repairs to stop leaks; staff said the action is intended as a stopgap so repairs can proceed quickly and that the work constitutes repair (not a full roof replacement). The total contract amount shown for Lucas Place operations and the repair work is $50,000.

Two separate waiver-and-consent items were approved allowing city employees to participate in presentations for a…