Village alert system talks continue

From the Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Village alert system talks continue
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

SPRING GROVE – Village officials still are mulling whether they should implement a communitywide alert system to let residents know about weather emergencies.

The Safety Committee on Tuesday discussed the capabilities and effectiveness of the proposed system, which touts the ability to notify residents by phone, text or e-mail message within minutes. But committee members are skeptical that the system could reach residents quickly enough.

“I really question whether it’s an emergency service,” said Police Chief Tom Sanders, who attended the meeting.

The discussion initially was prompted after some residents complained that they did not hear emergency sirens during severe storms in June.

Sanders and committee Chairman Del Houghton both agreed that the proposed system seemed better suited for non-urgent messages, such as boil orders, as opposed to imminent threats, such as approaching storms.

Trustee Jim Anhalt suggested that one of the provider companies that had approached the village, Connect-CTY, prove its effectiveness by conducting a trial run.

“I’m interested in having CTY give 5,000 calls,” Anhalt said. “If they can’t handle it, they can’t handle it.”

Safety Committee member Ron Kopke also was present at the meeting. Committee member Pam Kerpec was absent.

Also discussed was how to reach residents who have multiple phone lines, mobile phones or who use their answering machines to screen calls, and whether residents in unincorporated areas near Spring Grove would be included in the alert system database.

Past cost estimates for an alert system have been about $6,200 annually.