Pea Ridge, Arkansas is a small city known for its military history, but also for its strong sense of community. Pea Ridge is a city that embraces the "Americana" lifestyle, with many local fairs, art and crafting shows, and other events that bring the community together. This is a city that values family and tradition and is a great place to raise a family. In December of 2022, Pea Ridge began working with GOGov to improve communication and streamline updates—without using social media!

About Pea Ridge City, AR

Pea Ridge, Arkansas is located in Benton County in the northwest corner of the state. It is a charming town with a population of just over 5,000 people. Pea Ridge is known for its beautiful natural landscapes, family-friendly atmosphere, and its historical significance. The city is home to several historical sites, including the Pea Ridge National Military Park. This park commemorates the Civil War battle that took place in 1862 and is one of the most visited sites in the state. Pea Ridge is also home to a variety of outdoor activities, such as hiking, fishing, camping, and golfing.  

What was the challenge that led Pea Ridge to GOGov?

The biggest hurdle for Pea Ridge was figuring out how to share information with the community that wasn't through social media. With social media, too many voices and conversations can lead to confusion and misunderstandings. Fortunately, GOGov's Citizen Notifications solution provided a great solution to this problem, as notifications could be sent directly to citizens' phones through a mobile app. This allowed for fast and accurate communication in real-time.  

After stumbling upon a GOGov user's app on LinkedIn, Pea Ridge's Mayor, Nathan See, sought out the current customer to gain insight on their experience with the app. He soon discovered that GOGov was the perfect fit for his needs - simple and straightforward.  

"Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, I wanted to use a product that people were already satisfied with. By going with GOGov, I was able to execute exactly what I wanted the first time, and it made all the difference." Nathan See, Mayor

How is Pea Ridge using GOGov Today?

In 2022, the City of Pea Ridge partnered with GOGov's Team to bring their residents the Pea Ridge Connect app. This app is powered by a push notification system and provides the community with information on local events, weather alerts, and Police department updates. Mayor See finds it essential to keep the community informed of important updates through the Pea Ridge Connect app, rather than through social media, to ensure accuracy and reduce any unnecessary rumors.  

The city staff tracks and measures requests that are submitted by the Pea Ridge citizens. The reports consist of code enforcement, clean up, or pothole matters that need to be attended to. This makes it a simple and organized process for the city staff to respond to the requests and ensure that the issues will be resolved within seven days.

The app has been especially useful with its quick updates on road closures due to common heavy rainfalls in Pea Ridge. These alerts help the school district navigate bus routes in order to get children home safely. The process is simple for Mayor See, he can put out a notification from his phone, and get the information out fast to bus drivers, and alert them when the roads are reopened. Pea Ridge Connect has been an invaluable asset to the school district, providing reliable and timely notifications.

Additionally, Pea Ridge Connect was recently utilized to alert the citizens of a burglary that occurred in the city. Thanks to the timely notification, the police were able to identify and apprehend the suspect within three days in New Mexico. Mayor See is confident that the community was safeguarded while the burglar was on the run while also providing invaluable assistance in locating the suspect.  

Future Plans for Pea Ridge

Moving forward, the city has new updates on in-house matters that will be sent out through the Pea Ridge Connect app. The community development team has also created a project tracker for Pea Ridge, which will be added to the app so residents can check that information.  

Another goal for Pea Ridge is pushing the sense of community more than ever. Mayor See explained that after 2020 when COVID hit, the community was more isolated than before. His goal is to use the Pea Ridge Connect app to get the community together through local events and outings.  

Advice for those considering GOGov

At the conclusion of our customer spotlight interview with Mayor Nathan See, we asked for any additional advice he could provide. His response was that municipalities should strongly consider using an app to communicate with their residents.

As Mayor See pointed out, “If you're not using an app right now, you are kind of missing that demographic of people that aren't on social media that don't get any other information except for whenever they hear about it from their neighbor. Wouldn't you rather be the person giving them the information rather than hearing it?”

Your Municipality Powered by GOGov

GOGov is committed to helping municipalities and local governments enhance community engagement, streamline operations, and foster transparent communication. Our partnership with Marco Island demonstrates the potential of our solutions to make a meaningful impact on cities of all sizes, and our continued efforts to improve and innovate further.  

GOGov specializes in providing CRM, Code Enforcement, Citizen Notifications, Online Permitting and mobile software to local governments of all sizes. We built our software from the ground up working with the departments and staff that now use our products every single day.

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