Emergency Notification System (ENS)

For Point Venture Residents

A new Emergency Notification System (ENS) has been established in Travis County that allows Sheriff’s dispatchers to send pre-recorded messages over the telephone to county residents, including those of us who live in Point Venture. The City of Austin has the same capability. Theoretically, the ENS system can simultaneously dial 60,000 phone numbers per hour and is designed to work with virtually all answering machines. The ENS system is designed to supplement the emergency notification process. There may still be times when it is necessary for emergency personnel to go door-to-door to notify residents when the circumstances demand it.

In the event of an emergency situation that might threaten your home, Sheriff dispatchers will be able to send a pre-recorded message via the telephone to Point Venture residents with emergency instructions and alerts. The ENS system can be used to send messages to our entire community or just to homes along a specific street.

All of the homes in Point Venture that use “standard” home telephone systems such as those provided by AT&T have already been placed in the ENS database. Unfortunately, homes that rely solely on cell phones or cable supported phones such as Time Warner’s Roadrunner system or Vonage cannot be called by the ENS system at this time. County and Council of Government officials are presently exploring ways to add such cell and cable phone numbers to the ENS database, but no timetable for resolution of this deficiency is currently known.

The Mayor and City Council have designated four Point Venture residents to assist with activation of the ENS system as it affects our community. They are Mayor Kevin Sheffer; Mayor Pro Tem Ed Stuart; Gary Robertson, Emergency Management Coordinator; and Joe Solpietro, Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator. One of these individuals will be responsible for calling the Travis County Sheriff’s Dispatch Office and requesting activation of the ENS system when qualifying emergencies occur in Point Venture. The other three individuals are “backup” should one or all of the other individuals be absent from the community.

One example of how the ENS notification process could be used might be related to PV water supply. In the highly unlikely event that Point Venture’s water might somehow become contaminated, the Mayor (or one of the other three individuals) could request that the Sheriff’s Dispatch Office activate the ENS system. A pre-recorded message would then be quickly sent to all “standard” home phones in Point Venture telling residents to boil their water until the problem is resolved. Through another ENS message, the “all clear” could then be sent to residents.

If you have a question about the new Emergency Notification System (ENS), please contact Gary Robertson, Emergency Management Coordinator, at 267-0336 or at grobertson3@austin.rr.com