Columbus officials are planning to install cameras at some city facilities as part of a security upgrade project.
The Columbus Board of Works has approved a Request for Proposals for purchase and installation of these security cameras. City Director of Finance, Operations and Risk Jamie Brinegar said camera locations will include city hall, its parking lots, a couple of the buildings on the other side of these lots and the Evolution Training Center near Columbus Municipal Airport.
Responses to the RFP are due back on April 19 and will be opened at the board’s meeting that day.
Brinegar estimated that the camera purchase and installation will cost about $100,000. The city will be reimbursed for the expense through a grant from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“We also will be adding a magnetometer, or metal detector, downstairs at the south end of the (city hall) building,” said Director of Administration and Community Development Mary Ferdon. “That’s a smaller piece that we’ll do internally.”
Sometime this spring or summer, the city will institute a new policy wherein anyone coming into the building will have to go through the metal detector, she said, including city employees.
According to Brinegar, officials estimate that the entire grant project will cost $123,866. He said at a previous city meeting that the metal detectors and cameras could be installed by June, depending on factors such as the supply chain.
On March 15, Columbus City Council passed the first reading of an appropriations ordinance that included the use of $126,322 from the city’s general fund for expenses related to the grant.
As noted in the ordinance, the city was awarded a $126,322 grant from the DHS’ State Homeland Security Program for safety upgrades at city hall and the Evolution Training Facility. Because this is a “refunding grant,” the city must spend funds prior to being reimbursed by the department.
The ordinance requires a second reading for full approval, and the council’s next meeting is set for Tuesday.
City officials have said that the upgrades are not the result of any local incidents but noted that staff have expressed concern about events in other communities.
According to the DHS, “The SHSP grant assists state, local, tribal and territorial efforts to build, sustain and deliver the capabilities necessary to prevent, prepare for, protect against and respond to acts of terrorism.”
