Mayor, chief offer new details on surveillance cams
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
February 5, 2010
Libby Mayor Doug Roll and Police Chief Jim Smith offered new details on a proposed video surveillance system for Mineral Avenue during a city council meeting last Tuesday night.
Roll said he's heard concerns about "Big Brother," and stressed that recordings from the camera system would go straight to a hard drive and would only be accessed by police during the course of an investigation.
"It doesn't have a live feed," Roll said. "We can't watch Mineral Avenue. We can't watch the Pastime at midnight waiting for someone to walk out the front door."
Although the technology is similar to that used elsewhere for traffic law enforcement, the system would not be used for that purpose, Roll added.
Councilman D.C. Orr asked Smith if recordings from the cameras would be reviewed on a daily basis.
Video would be recorded onto a hard drive in the police station on a 30-day loop, and recordings from a specific time period within that 30-day window could be downloaded to a computer for review by police in the event of a crime such as vandalism, Smith said.
"That allays a lot of Big Brother fears, and it allays my fears that we'd be paying someone to review it," Orr said.
A vandalism spree in November resulted in more than $20,000 in damage to windows at downtown businesses, Smith said. More than $12,000 in damage was recorded in another incident involving broken windows last spring, he said. The damages prompted Roll to ask Smith to look into the option of surveillance cameras.
Smith said he talked with the owner of a Whitefish company that provides the surveillance system in use at Libby Dam and also has security contracts with the president of Afghanistan. Three different options were suggested, using different cameras in different placements and ranging in cost from $48,000 to $62,000.
The cameras have enough resolution to identify a license plate from a mile away and to identify people inside cars, Smith said.
"This is Predator drone technology," he said.
In other business, the council:
- Gave Smith the go-ahead to purchase two new police cars for his department. The cars will replace two 1999 cars that are "ready for the boneyard," Smith said.
In addition to the two cars being replaced, the department currently has a 2002 car, a 2003, a 2006 and a 2007, Smith said. The money for the new cars is already in the budget, with the department¡¦s newest car scheduled to be fully paid off in July, Smith said. Because the new cars will come with a lower interest rate, the department will save $214 per year over what had been budgeted, he said.
Smith said he plans to buy two Ford Crown Victorias through Timberline Auto Center in Libby. The price, at $24,779, is standard for government fleet purchases and would be the same at any dealer, he said.
Smith said he also priced Dodge Chargers, but the cost was $7,500 more than the Fords.
- Accepted a draft bicycle traffic safety ordinance subject to possible amendment prior to adoption. The draft ordinance, prompted by complaints from city residents, stipulates that the same traffic laws governing motor vehicles apply to bicycles and specifically bans the riding of bicycles on sidewalks within the city limits.
- Received a report from Roll on 2009 building permits issued by the city.
There were 22 residential permits issued in 2009 with a construction value of $283,500, compared to 29 in 2008 with a value of $334,522. There was one new house built in the city limits in 2009, compared to none in 2008.
There were 16 commercial permits in 2009 with a construction value of $4,088,730, compared to 18 in 2008 with a value of $1,627,518. The new Lincoln County Credit Union building and the Assembly of God church were the two largest projects in 2009.
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Editor’s Note: See the January 26, 2010 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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