Allen County commissioners said they likely would remain a client of CodeRED, which provides a weather and emergency telephone alert system for the area.
A contract with CodeRED expires in early January. A second security company, ADT, bid less to provide similar services. CodeRED wants $11,343.50 for another year, ADT $8,400.
Pam Beasley, emergency management director, told commissioners it would require a laborious transfer of information from 5,053 residential subscribers to switch services, none of which could be downloaded and transferred through a computer program. She reasoned time to make the transfer would eat up much of the savings between the contracts.
Also, Sheriff Tom Williams said CodeRED “works well” and that he feared a change might affect the public’s acceptance of the service.
“CodeRED provides customer service at the drop of a hat,” said Beasley. “It’s already here and people’s familiarity with it is important,” added Commissioner Rob Francis.
“There seems to be enough concerns about ADT that we probably should stay with CodeRED for another year, although we should keep evaluating” the services, said Commissioner Dick Works.
Chairman Gary McIntosh said he wasn’t ready for a motion to keep the existing service in place another year, but “that seems to be our intention.”
The computerized telephone service has been used many times to alert Allen Countians about pending severe weather and to aid law enforcement officers in ongoing incidents.
A feature offered in the past year permits subscribers to opt out of receiving certain calls, such as those forecasting flash floods.
“There’s no reason for someone living on a hill to be concerned about a flash flood,” Williams said when the opt out opportunity was announced.
COMMISSIONERS approved the county’s participation in a community revitalization program at Humboldt.
City Administrator Larry Tucker said the downtown business district and all residential areas west of Ninth Street would be in the program for three years starting May 31. A current three-year program, involving residential areas south of Bridge Street and the business district, expires Feb. 1.
In the district, improvements of $3,000 or more to residential properties and $5,000 or more for businesses are eligible for property tax rebates of 100 percent for six years, less 5 percent given the county for administration, with a reduction of 20 percent a year over the next four years. After 10 years improvements are taxed at full value. Tucker said 10 properties were enrolled in the current program. With more than 20 vacant lots on the west side of town, he anticipates greater enrollment this time around.
Also, he said senior housing anticipated in northwest Humboldt would qualify for the tax break, and other projects might be encouraged by its availability.
COUNTY Counselor Alan Weber told commissioners that a countywide quarter-cent sales tax to support construction of a new Allen County Hospital wouldn’t take effect until April 1.
State law provides for such taxes to be put in place not sooner than 90 days after an enacting referendum and then at the start of a full quarter of a year, which exempts the first three months of 2011 from the healthcare tax.
Also, Weber said Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City had approved a grant of $16,641 to study how drug cases might be handled differently in Allen County. The study is expected to lead to outcomes of less jail and prison time and more rehabilitation.
COUNTY commissioners will not meet next Tuesday. They will instead attend the Kansas Association of Counties annual conference in Johnson County, which begins Sunday and runs through Tuesday.
