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City staff hear pitch for AI‑enabled community calendar; IT raises security and accessibility assurances
Summary
A vendor demonstrated a community calendar app with conversational search and analytics; city IT reviewed hosting, penetration testing and ADA/GDPR/ISO safeguards. Staff said they will discuss a possible future agreement and return with details.
Asaf Heilig, co‑founder and chief growth officer of the community calendar vendor, demonstrated an app designed to centralize local event listings and to let residents search conversationally (similar to generative assistants). He highlighted features for residents: calendar and grid views, event sign‑ups, SMS/email confirmations and a conversational smart search for local events.
IT manager Ron Williams emphasized backend safeguards: annual penetration testing, hosting on Amazon Web Services and DDoS protection via Cloudflare, plus adherence to WCAG 2.1 for accessibility. Williams also noted compliance practices including 10‑DLC SMS rules and that the vendor follows GDPR and ISO standards for data protection.
City Manager and IT staff said they would continue discussions with the vendor and bring an agreement forward if the product fit city needs and procurement rules. Councilmembers asked about content filters and editorial control; the vendor said the city would have final control over what is published and a rollout playbook to moderate content initially.
Next steps
Staff said they will follow up with the vendor on contract details and return to council with any recommended agreement.
