Rollingwood council considers replacing Rave with a modern alert system and creating a college intern program

Council examined an exceptional item to upgrade the city's outbound communications platform and a separate proposal to start a paid college internship program. Councilmember Kevin Shell described community frustration with the current Rave system and proposed evaluating alternatives such as Everbridge that offer better opt‑in controls and geofencing. Staff stressed two conditions for a platform change: retain/transfer existing subscriber lists and avoid forcing residents to re‑sign up for emergency notifications.

Shell also introduced a college intern program as an exceptional item that would be about 10–15 hours per week and could include office and field placements (planning, public works). The mayor and staff expressed support while noting space and supervisory capacity constraints. "We are not huge fans of Rave... the main game in town with what you're describing here is a platform called Everbridge," Alan Thomas summarized; staff said they will explore options and return cost estimates before the August decisions.