From left, Lakewood Village Trustee Ellen Barnes, Mayor Randy Holcomb, Trustee Ben Troche, and Trustee Scott Cooper Monday look over documents. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

LAKEWOOD – Trustees received their first glance Monday at a public safety proposal that includes the use of cameras in the village aimed at helping law enforcement officials in Lakewood.

Zac Eagan, representing Flock Safety, said in a Zoom presentation, during the trustees’ workshop meeting, that Flock Safety is the leading public safety national platform. Eagan said Flock’s proprietary technology can be tried out by the Lakewood-Busti Police Department before the village commits to purchasing the package.

In a letter to Police Chief Matthew Bentley, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said that Flock’s “unique system integrates hardware and a cloud-based software to enable real-time data processing and secure data sharing capabilities that are unavailable through other providers.”

What this means potentially for the village is that it will have cameras at six different locations in the village.

Some possible locations, Bentley said, are Fairmount Avenue, Fairdale Avenue, Chautauqua Avenue, and Terrace Avenue with the ability to move the cameras to other locations that may prove problematic, Bentley said.

“We always emphasize that we do not replace police officers, but we’re a tool in their tool belt to help them,” Eagan said. “We’re that (police) force multiplier.”

Langley added in the letter that Flock provides the ability to access additional cameras from Flock customers that including New York State Police, Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office, Erie County Sheriff’s Office, Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, SUNY Binghamton, and Buffalo State College, at no additional cost.

Although trustees were informed that the cost of the technology package would be about $33,900 per year, Eagan said village officials can expect to receive three times on the return on their investment.

The way the system works, Eagan said, is that LWBPD would have an administrator who has access to the system, and the ability to train and designate other police personnel to access the system as well.

Trustees did not take any action on the matter, and will discuss the proposal at future meetings, Mayor Randy Holcomb said. The village will be looking into funding options to help defray the price tag associated with the proposal.

“We’re getting into budget season, so actually the timing is good,” Trustee Ellen Barnes said.

Bentley said the scope of the plan should be small.

“I think it’s something to look into,” Bentley said. “We should really take our time if we do go forward with something like this.”

During the regular meeting that followed the work session, trustees:

– Approved the hiring of Allissa Perry as a full-time probationary police officer with a beginning salary of $55,380 per year. Her starting date is Feb. 18.

– Authorized Bentley to request sealed bids for one 2026 Dodge Durango Pursuit All Wheel Drive patrol car. Bids are to be received on or before 3 p.m., Feb. 26.