American Fork discusses three‑way pilot with Central Utah Water and Yopify to send utility and conservation alerts

American Fork City Council reviewed a proposed three‑party pilot on March 11 to use software services from a vendor identified in the record as "Yopify" alongside Central Utah Water Conservancy District to send utility, billing and water‑conservation notifications to residents.

City staff said the pilot would migrate contact information currently held in Everbridge — the system the county and Central Utah 911 use for reverse 9‑1‑1 — into Yopify so residents can receive texts and emails about water consumption, billing and targeted conservation notices. Kim, the city staff member leading the item, said, “we're gonna take those accounts and migrate them over to Yopify,” and added the city would notify residents before and after migration so subscribers would know what to expect.

The pilot is structured as a partnership among American Fork, Central Utah Water and the vendor; Amanda, identified in the meeting as a Central Utah Water representative, was present to answer questions. City staff said Central Utah is covering a substantial portion of the vendor’s multi‑year fee for the pilot, and described the city’s share as a discounted, limited‑term arrangement intended to run three years in the first instance.

Why it matters: City staff said automated text and email notices about unusual meter readings, high consumption or overdue bills would be more actionable for residents and more efficient for utility billing staff than the current manual outreach. In addition to conservation messaging — for example, automated flags suggesting a possible leak — the system could send routine billing reminders and customer service links.

How it would work: Staff said contacts that have opted into Everbridge categories (library notices, emergency alerts, etc.) would be migrated and that utility account holders could receive usage notifications tied to meter reads. Kim said the system would allow residents to opt out via text (for example, texting “STOP”), a capability staff said Everbridge does not offer for some non‑emergency categories.

Costs and timeline: Staff described Central Utah’s overall expenditure for its full suite of services in the pilot as “200 plus thousand” (as stated in the meeting). For American Fork, staff estimated an ongoing cost of roughly $9,000 per year if the city continued the vendor relationship after the initial three‑year arrangement; staff also noted the city currently pays about $6,000 per year to remain part of the Everbridge multi‑city contract for reverse 9‑1‑1 services. Kim said Central Utah has agreed to revisit subsidy arrangements before the end of the three‑year period.

Council questions and vendor selection: Council members asked how the city would obtain phone numbers and whether the data provided would be sufficiently granular and actionable. Kim said Everbridge subscriptions would be migrated and that utility account contact information would be used to send billing and consumption notices. Staff also said they considered other vendors (Podium, SpryPoint and Freshline were mentioned in the discussion) before negotiating the pilot arrangement and described Yopify as the option that best matched the city’s needs under the proposed three‑party structure.

No formal vote recorded in the transcript segment: The portion of the meeting provided contains staff presentation and council questions but does not record a final motion or roll‑call vote on the Central Utah Water–Yopify agreement.

Next steps: Staff said the city would implement the pilot under Central Utah’s subsidy for the initial period and re‑assess costs and subscription arrangements before year four. The city also plans to continue using Everbridge for emergency notifications through Central Utah 911.