The Lincoln Township Board of Trustees has approved the implementation of a text alert system to notify residents when there’s an issue they should know about. At a Tuesday meeting, trustees approved the Civic Plus system, which will enable residents to choose what kind of notifications they want to receive, whether it’s library news, road closure updates, or water main breaks. Speaking of which, Township Clerk Stacey Loar-Porter pointed to the recent water main break that prompted a boil water advisory for the township, saying residents could have found out a lot faster if Civic Engage had been in place.
“We wanted people to know as fast as we could, and so we started with Facebook and with the radio stations, and the city of St. Joe was instrumental in trying to get word out, but it was hard because it was a Saturday and people weren’t working and we had the storm,” Loar-Porter said. “So, we did the best we could, which was social media and asked people to spread the word, but it would have been much more efficient of our time to be able to send out a mass notification system.”
The alert system can also be used by those with no internet or smart phones because it can call someone with a voice message. Also Tuesday, the board approved the Civic Engage system, which will mean a revamped website for the township. Loar-Porter said the site will have more information and allow residents to make requests or report issues online. The total cost for both systems will be just under $22,000 up front and roughly $12,000 per year to maintain after that. Loar-Porter is going to work to get the text alert system implemented in the coming months, while the website design will take a little longer.
