A new emergency alert system goes live today after a unanimous vote to authorize its launch from the Williamsburg City Council on Thursday.
The new system, by Everbridge Inc., will be an improvement over the City 411 and e-notify systems that will remain in place for the time being.
Fire Chief Pat Dent presented some of the advantages of the new system, such as the option to isolate an emergency message to a neighborhood or street using a map interface.
The emergency notification platform can send out messages to residents, businesses, employees and user-defined groups of people through email, LAN lines, cell phones, text messages and social media.
It’s also on a mobile platform, which Dent said is convenient to city employees tasked with sending out the messages.
“Those authorized city users that send out those messages can send them from a smartphone or from an iPad,” he said. “So, we don’t have to be sitting in the office to send those messages out.”
The city will also have the ability to use a polling feature that will send a message asking for a response – for example, “yes” or “no” – from those receiving the message.
Non-emergency information, like updates about power outages and street maintenance, can also be conveyed through the emergency network. The long-term goal for using the Everbridge system is to replace the current e-notify and City 411 systems that dispatch emails and text messages, respectively.
The upfront cost to the city was $1,100 with an additional annual cost of $10,000. City emergency notifications will continue to be an opt-in program.
Councilman Scott Foster wanted to know if the new system interfaced with the system currently in place at the College of Williams & Mary. Dent said that even though they did try to partner with the college, the two institutions would ultimately benefit from systems tailored to meet the needs of each, separately.
Those who wish to participate can find the new system at williamsburgva.gov/alerts.
Dent said he would be starting an awareness campaign for the system in tandem with the new emergency alert program. Through media releases, mailers, social media and door hangers, Dent hopes to inform people about the new opt-in system.
Dent is slated to speak about Everbridge at the Oct. 5 Neighborhood Council meeting to help spread awareness.
