Flathead County OKs $79,995 emergency-notification contract for countywide alerts

Flathead County commissioners on May 9 approved a five-year master subscription agreement with Genesis Inc. to provide countywide emergency-notification and integrated public alerting software.

County Office of Emergency Services Director Juanita Nelson told commissioners the system will be used for wildland fire and flood warnings and can be used by public health and other county offices. She said the county obtained both three- and five-year quotes and that Genesis submitted the lowest price; the total contract price is $79,995, to be spread across the chosen term.

Nelson said the county expects the software to provide rapid warning to residents during fast-moving incidents "before we could get any deputies to go do an actual evacuation order," citing the need for fast alerting in scenarios like the recent Boulder fire.

Commissioners moved and approved the document for signature; the motion carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The agreement will allow county staff to send targeted emergency notices to residents; Nelson said the public expects government agencies to have that capability. She did not provide a per-year breakdown in the meeting record or identify annual maintenance or hosting costs beyond the quoted total.

The county will now finalize contract signatures and move to implement the software with county departments as needed.