Umatilla council pledges coordinated emergency-notification plan after Lifeways patient escaped

Umatilla — Residents pressed the Umatilla City Council Tuesday to fix glaring gaps in local emergency communications after a person escaped from the Lifeways facility in McNary earlier this month.

Several residents told the council they first learned of the incident via social media and said official notice either came too late or not at all. “This incident and the city's response has shaken that belief to its core,” said Leslie Foster, a longtime resident who spoke during public comment. Denise Pratt, another resident, summarized the broader concern: “I have two main concerns: safety and communication.”

Councilors moved quickly to add a discussion of emergency preparedness and communications to the agenda and approved the addition by voice vote. During the ensuing discussion staff and council outlined existing notification tools and next steps. The county’s emergency-management system uses Everbridge, a subscription-based alert platform that officials said can be geofenced to target a specific area or cell tower. Staff noted that residents must sign up for the county subscription and that the system can also be used to push text, email and app notifications.

Aaron Johnson, a former law-enforcement officer who addressed the council, urged action: “Don't overthink it. Just get it done.” Councilors and staff described outreach so far: the school district had pushed notifications through its systems, and city officials said they would coordinate a meeting with county emergency management, the police chief and school superintendent to produce a recommended action item for a future council meeting.

Council staff said the discussion item was not a formal policy adoption. “This agenda item is a discussion,” Mayor Seidt said; an action item with recommended steps will be brought back to council after staff consultation and stakeholder meetings. Officials said they also planned to speak with Lifeways about its on-site monitoring and notification practices and to review whether facility conditions match the terms under which the facility was originally approved.

Residents urged quicker, multi-channel alerts for incidents that could put children or other vulnerable people at risk. Several speakers cited the facility’s proximity to an elementary school and asked whether the city could require different security measures or revoke permits if contractual obligations were not met. City staff and councilors cautioned that some placements are directed by courts or state systems and that any regulatory response would require legal review and coordination with state agencies.

The council directed staff to convene the relevant partners and return to council with a proposed action item and recommended communication procedures at a later meeting.