Lake County villages sign on to information system

Round Lake Beach and Fox Lake are the latest communities in Lake County to sign on with the connect CTY phone tree for emergency purposes.

Round Lake Beach Police Chief Doug Larrson said Monday night the system is invaluable when trying to reach hundreds of residents at once and inform them of situations in the village.

"We can contact them by phone or e-mail or by text messages and tell them whatever they need to know," Larrson said. "We have tested it out and the system is operational. So, we should be going online with it momentarily."

The system is designed so officials can create a phone message and have that message sent out to individual residences during potential emergencies.

Fox Lake officials said they will test their system by the end of the week.

Fox Lake Village Administrator Nancy Schuerr said the safety features of the system far outweigh the annual cost of the system.

"It's a great way to notify a large group of people about any issue important, whether it's a warning or the cancellation of any event," she said. "This contacts everyone quickly and easily. It's just a wonderful vehicle to get the information out to residents."

Village administrator Nancy Schuerr said after the system is tested, the village will be able to inform residents of anything important taking place in the village with a simple phone call.

Round Lake Beach officials said the annual cost of their system is about $17,500, while Fox Lake is paying about $14,700 annually for their charge.

However, Fox Lake received a grant to offset 85 percent of the connect system in the first year, Schuerr said.

Both village officials said people can receive messages any way they chose. Residents in Fox Lake looking to get messages to their cell phones or personal data devices should log on to Fox Lake's Internet Web site at www.foxlake.org to punch in the required information. People in Round Lake Beach can do the same at www.villageofroundlakebeach.com.

"Once we started using it, we learned how easy it is to use and get information out," Larrson said. "So, for emergencies, I'll be sending out messages while for events and other village issues, it'll be the village administrator who sends out the messages."