Kristen Massey, Marketing and Media Relations specialist for the city, says the new system, called Everbridge, will send messages of severe weather warnings and other emergencies through calls, emails and text messages.
"It's due to their age and the limited amount of coverage that it brings to the city," said Massey about the early warning sirens. "This way, it's a much more effective way to get the information out to everybody." Massey also said use of the sirens will stop and the citizens alert system will be the only system used starting on May 15th.
The $14,000 system is funded through the board of commissioners, according to Massey. Barrow County is also taking part in the new system.
Citizens can sign up for the system on the city's website (linked below). From there, citizens can select what notifications they want and where they go.
Residents who need assistance setting up their account or don't use a lot of technology shouldn't worry, they will still be able to receive the alerts.
"We are going to set up specific days for people to be able to come in to the police station, and we're going to walk them through it and show them how to sign up," said Massey.
Those days so far are May 3, 7 and 13 at the police station. Assistance will also be provided at the Pavilion during the Great American Clean Up on April 25 and 26.
Hall County is also using the Everbridge program and debuted it late last year.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/4/274043