Trending
Jamestown's parking garages will soon feature security cameras.
The Jamestown City Council approved two resolutions for the purchase of more than 40 cameras at a cost of almost $250,000. The cost covers the camera equipment and electrical work for installation inside the Cherry and Spring street parking garages.
There was no discussion on the purchase during the council's recent voting session. Equipment and electrical work will come from SHI International Corp. and Nest Wireless Global, respectively.
Of the 44 cameras being bought, 26 will be installed in the Spring Street parking garage and the remaining 18 in the Cherry Street garage.
The city has yet to hear whether it will receive a grant to cover the majority of the $250,000 price tag.
Paula Pichon, grants coordinator, told the council's Finance Committee that the city should know by the end of January if the grant application was successful. However, Mayor Kim Ecklund confirmed that the city has yet to hear word on the grant's status.
Nonetheless, the mayor said the cameras are necessary and needed to be purchased.
Concerns over safety inside the city's parking garage were raised last summer. One county employee reported that her vehicle had been vandalized while parked in the garage next to City Hall. At a Public Safety Committee meeting later that month, an administrator with the county Department of Mental Hygiene said some of her employees were hesitant to come to work.
"We're hoping we'll hear about the grant before the end of the month," Ecklund said in January. "We're crossing our fingers."
Ecklund previously said the city can use its general fund and seek a reimbursement later if the grant comes through.