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Council updates siren project; residents to buy indoor Safe Network units at vendor's reduced price
Summary
City staff presented the final alert-and-warning standard operating procedure and options for funding home indoor receivers (Safe Units). Council accepted the SOP for filing, agreed that vendor HQE will install outdoor infrastructure, and voted that homeowners will purchase indoor units at the vendor's at-cost price rather than full city subsidy.
City staff presented a status update on the outdoor siren and Safe Network emergency notification system and asked the City Council to choose how to allocate the cost of indoor Safe Network receiver units.
Staff described a final version of the alert-and-warning standard operating procedure (SOP) as a working document; staff will bring any substantial revisions back to council. HQE, the vendor, offered at-cost pricing for up to 2,100 indoor Safe Network units ($92.84 per unit before tax and shipping) and agreed to provide the outdoor transmitter/antenna infrastructure and installation at cost. Staff described three funding options for the small indoor receivers: (A) city fully funds units, (B) residents purchase units themselves, or (C) a shared subsidy program.
Council discussion focused on coverage gaps found during the March 4 system test, technical trade-offs between siren-only and voice-plus-siren coverage, deployment of additional speaker poles to fill “shadowed” areas, and resident uptake of indoor units. The vendor, HQE, reported the unit's indoor capability, battery runtime (vendor testing suggested roughly one week of internal battery life with multiple daily messages), Wi-Fi fallback if the outdoor network is not received, ADA-compliant visual and audible alerts, and two-way assist-request functionality routed to the network manager or dispatch.
Council voted that individual homeowners will be responsible for purchasing Safe Network indoor units rather than the city fully underwriting the devices. HQE confirmed it will still supply and install the outdoor transmitter/speaker infrastructure (additional smaller poles and one taller pole at Pine Tree and Portuguese Bend were discussed as likely additions to improve coverage). Staff will publicize a training webinar in April, provide an FAQ and registration process, and coordinate a resident purchase portal. Council also directed staff to work with HQE and the Rolling Hills Community Association on siting of the additional poles, and to bring photo-flagged proposed pole sites back to council for review before permits are issued.
Why this matters: the decision shifts unit cost to homeowners but preserves the outdoor network infrastructure provided by HQE; staff emphasized the need for a multi-channel alerting strategy and public outreach to ensure resident awareness and device registration.
