THUNDER BAY – City council unanimously voted on Monday to commit over a quarter million dollars in for up to 15 new cameras and upgrades to the city’s Eye on the Street program.
The funding will go towards phase three of the program. Matt Pearson, senior advisor for the growth department, told council that closed-circuit camera technology has improved over the last five years and taking advantage of the charge would be an advantage to supporting public safety and well-being in the community.
Coun. Kasey Etreni asked if the city has determined where the 15 cameras will be located, particularly, if one will be put by the temporary shelter villages.
Pearson said the city has not determined where the cameras will be installed.
“The process works in partnership with Thunder Bay Police. They will submit a list of locations that they deem priority. We will evaluate them from an IT perspective, how easily they can be connected to the network and how we can connect them to the network,” he said.
He also mentioned that the cost will vary depending on their location.
“We can see some locations cost almost six figures, where others can be achieved for under $10,000. So, depending on the location, it's very key that the 15 number is an approximation,” Pearson said.
The $254,731 will be drawn from the city's general capital reserve fund and matches a grant secured by the Thunder Bay Police Service through provincial guns, gangs and violence reduction strategy grant funding. A total of $509,460 for the project.
Coun. Rajni Agarwal asked if the funding would be used to replace the cameras already in service.
“The oldest camera in the Eye on the Street network, right now, is four years old, so technology is still very current. Although the new models of cameras we're buying will be slightly updated, I would say the original cameras from four years ago have many, many years of life still in them,” Pearson said.
"Most of the technology improvements are around the connectivity,” he said, meaning closed-circuit cameras will get software upgrades to allow them to connect to the city wirelessly rather than hardwired.
