Springdale Finding Many Uses For Notification System

Monday, December 16, 2013

— Recent inclement weather could have sent participants in city sports leagues to the phone to check on canceled games.

Instead, those who signed up to receive league notices got text messages or email relating the status of games.

Kyle Johnson, a participant in basketball leagues, said the notices save him time.

“You would have to spend time calling the Youth Center, then calling back because the phone would be busy,” Johnson said. “I’m very impressed with how they are using the system.”

A weather-alert system used by the city has proved to be a major help for getting information to residents and city employees.

“We’ve been able to use the system for many more purposes than we expected,” said Mayor Doug Sprouse. “It’s been a real big plus for us.”

The city began a weather notification program with Cooper Communications in 2010. The program can send notifications, alerts and warnings by voice recording, text or email.

The city paid $76,850 for the first year in the contract with Cooper Notification’s Roam Secure Alert Network and pays $22,800 per year afterward, said Wyman Morgan, city director of administration.

Residents can choose to have warnings from the National Weather Service sent to email, cellphone or landline. Also, when users sign up for the service, or change their settings, they can choose to receive information from the city’s Parks and Recreation, said Rick McWhorter, department director.

“It’s been a godsend,” McWhorter said. “It has saved a lot of time when we have had to cancel games.”

In the past, when weather might cause scheduled Youth Center games in recreational leagues to be called off, an employee would spend hours on the phone fielding calls, McWhorter said.

The system has become more popular as people understand how it is used, said Colby Rhoades, parks youth sports coordinator.

“We have encouraged people to use the system,” Colby said. “When they join a league, we’ll tell them about the system and ask them to sign up.”

The parks department also uses the system to remind people when a new sports season rolls around, Johnson said. He said he coaches teams in several sports.

“It’s great to get that reminder,” Johnson said. “You get so busy today you might forget.”

City employees are added to the system, Morgan said, and also are allotted to any appropriate internal groups.

Officials use the system to send messages to all employees, such as procedures for the city’s fitness system. Much more heavily used, however, is notification of groups within departments.

The Police Department uses the system to let staff members know about incidents that might affect them, said Capt. Bob Bersi.

“When we have a major incident, dispatch sends out a message to the command staff,” Bersi said. “We can use it to call in members of the Response Team, an accident reconstructionist or the detective on duty.”

The Fire Department uses the system almost every day, said Kevin McDonald, assistant chief.

At A Glance

Springdale Emergency Notification System

Users: 22,831

Notices sent: 4,014

Residents can sign up at https://alert.sprin…

Source: City Of Springdale

“Our battalion chiefs use it to cover open shifts,” McDonald said. “It has saved us hundreds of hours of work.”

Battalion chiefs and firefighters on their shifts work every third day. When a firefighter misses a day, through sickness, a scheduled day off or training, the chief in charge must find someone from another shift to work to maintain minimum staffing, McDonald said.

The old process, of calling up employee after employee, ate up time, said Ronnie Skelton, battalion chief.

“You’d make call after call,” Skelton said. “It could take an hour or more.”

With the notification system, sending a message for a text or email takes five minutes, Skelton said. Later, replies are checked, the first qualified person who responded is told they have the shift and another message goes out saying the spot has been filled, Skelton said.

“It so much easier and faster,” Skelton said.

The Fire Department also uses the the system to notify the command staff when firefighters are working a blaze, McDonald said. Dispatchers can notify members of the Springdale Hazardous Materials team when a spill takes place, he said.

When two poultry plants in the city had chemical leaks in 2012, nearby residents were warned to stay inside, McDonald said.

The city will continue to find more ways to use the system, Morgan said.