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 community housing organization identified in the record as CDI Friendly Evansville Regent Inc. The board waived the usual restriction preventing grantees from engaging city employees while a contract is pending so that Ron London may volunteer for a presentation; the board separately approved a similar waiver allowing Johnny McAllister of the Building Commission to give a one‑time presentation of up to four hours and to receive a $100 stipend.

Transportation staff requested and the board approved the transfer of vehicle number 488 (previously slated for auction) to the Parks Department for animal-control use. Staff said Parks surveyed the vehicle and asked to receive it; no payment or transfer fee was indicated in the record.

Public-works and engineering items approved included: - Closure of Waterworks Road to through traffic from Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, until noon on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, for emergency street repairs. Emergency vehicles will be allowed; eastbound and westbound movements will be adjusted in the area to maintain access to US 41 and nearby driveways serving the Harbor Edge/Marina Point area. - Change order No. 3 with E & B Paving LLC for the February overlay (Phase 1, project 25-001). The change reduces the contract by $1,855.29. The order shortens median lengths on Bakke Road near Virginia and Delaware streets, changes median material to 4-inch concrete placed over existing asphalt for both medians, adds tubular markers, installs an AW4-2L sign south of Franklin Street on the east side of Bakke Road and adds speed reduction markings near Bakke Road and Michigan Street. The amended contract amount listed is $1,430,086.09. - Change order No. 1 with Cooley Contracting LLC for Phase 1 (project 22-11-01) of the southeast-side 96-inch storm-sewer joint remediation. The change adds a $6,700 maintenance-of-traffic item and extends the project completion date to Sept. 30, 2026; the new contract total shown is $3,434,619 (up from $3,427,919). - A separate change order for Cooley Contracting LLC for Phase 2a of the same 96-inch storm-sewer remediation, which extends construction limits and the completion date to Sept. 30, 2026; the record indicated no dollar change for that order.

The board considered a set of right-of-way permit applications and related site-specific conditions and took the following actions: approvals for applications numbered 2243–2247, 2249, 2250 and 2258 with the condition that maintenance-of-traffic procedures per the Indiana Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (Indiana MUTCD) be implemented; a denial for application 2248 (the applicant’s site is slightly outside Evansville city limits); and a denial for application 2257, which the record described as a traffic/engineering issue best handled by the appropriate safety-board traffic engineering department. City engineering staff also requested that permitted work conform to current city engineering utility-cut repair details.

The board approved an update to the standard detail USCP-1 (utility cut/street patch) to include quick-join asphalt and crack tape applied to construction joints; staff said the detail applies to both asphalt and concrete cuts and that inspectors will distribute the detail with right-of-way permits and monitor compliance.

Most items were approved by unanimous voice vote; the meeting record does not show individual roll-call tallies. The board approved routine bills and payrolls and adjourned at about 1:49 p.m.

Votes at a glance - Approval of July 31 BPW minutes — approved (voice vote). - Contract with Reach Alert LLC (mass notification) — approved (voice vote). Contract amount presented: $4,950; staff reported $15,000 annual savings versus prior vendor. - Dentons letter of engagement (Human Relations) — approved (voice vote). Contract amount: $25,000. - Echo Housing Corporation contract amendment (Lucas Place CDBG2024) — approved (voice vote). Total amount shown: $50,000; roof repair described as a repair not replacement. - Waiver/consent to allow Ron London to present for CDI Friendly Evansville Regent Inc (volunteer) — approved (voice vote). - Waiver/consent to allow Johnny McAllister to present for CDI Friendly Evansville Regent Inc (one-time, up to 4 hours; $100 stipend) — approved (voice vote). - Transfer of vehicle #488 to Parks Department — approved (voice vote). - Waterworks Road closure (Aug. 11–15, 2025) for emergency repairs — approved (voice vote). - E & B Paving LLC change order No. 3 (Feb overlay Phase 1, 25-001) — approved (voice vote). New contract: $1,430,086.09. - Cooley Contracting LLC change order No. 1 (Phase 1, 22-11-01) — approved (voice vote). New contract: $3,434,619. - Cooley Contracting LLC change order (Phase 2a) — approved (voice vote). No dollar change recorded. - Right-of-way permits: applications 2243–2247, 2249, 2250, 2258 — approved with conditions (Indiana MUTCD compliance); application 2248 — denied; application 2257 — denied (traffic-engineering referral). - Update to USCP-1 utility-cut detail — approved (voice vote).

Background/why it matters: The mass-notification contract affects how the city communicates during network outages and emergencies and carries a modest recurring cost. The Echo Housing and CDBG action directed funding to a shelter repair that staff described as urgent. The Waterworks Road closure and paving/storm-sewer change orders affect near-term construction schedules and routing around Harbor Edge and other local neighborhoods.

The meeting record did not show extended debate on most items; staff presentations provided technical descriptions and justifications and members generally moved and seconded the recommendations without amendments.

Ending: The board approved bills and payroll and adjourned at about 1:49 p.m.; no public commenters signed up during the public-comment period.