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Residents urge better water-notification options; city explains cost constraints
Summary
Residents asked for advance notice of water service disruptions; city staff said third-party communications vendors charge per message, making routine texts or emails costly for brief outages, and encouraged residents to report suspected leaks to City Hall.
Several residents raised concerns about water-service disruptions and how the city notifies residents when service is interrupted. Lynn Amundsen told council she was worried that not everyone uses Facebook and asked whether alternative notice methods were available.
City Secretary Leara Thorp explained that the third-party vendor the city uses charges per communication when a text, call, or email is sent, which makes routine notifications costly for short incidents. "The third-party vendor the City contracts with charges per communication when a text, call, or email needs to be sent out," Thorp said. Mayor Jennifer Williams added that notices are posted on the city's Facebook page and that emergent leaks often resolve within the time it would take to send a paid message.
Council asked that suspected leaks be reported to City Hall so work orders can be issued; staff agreed to share information about upcoming events and notifications through the city's channels and to place event flyers and timely notices where possible.
