Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The town of Garfield will install four security cameras after the city council voted to approve an expenditure of $2,598 at its Feb. 11 meeting.
The cameras include replacement of two previous units installed at the city park. Another will go up at the town recycling facility and the fourth will be behind the city shop, where a battery charger went missing in December. The town spent $400 to replace it.
“Somebody thought they needed it more than the city did,” said Garfield Mayor Ray McCown.
The cameras are meant to be a monitoring device.
“At the park through the years, we had a couple kids that were, let’s say, hell on wheels,” said McCown, noting a break-in across the street from the park two months ago.
The cameras will be paid for out of the city’s general fund.
The concern at the recycling location stems from people dropping off items that the facility does not handle, as well as visitors using the Garfield residents’ only operation.
“It’s for local people to bring in old appliances, anything metal,” said McCown. “But after awhile, people get to generally thinking it’s a dumpyard. Couches, hot tubs, plastic swimming pools show up.”
The city has an ordinance which fines offenders $500 if caught. The cameras will be of high enough quality to read license plates going in and out of the yard.
“We’ll mail them a $500 ticket,” McCown said.
Cascade Computing of Spokane will handle the contract.
“The quality of the new cameras is dramatically better,” said the company’s Marcus Munn.
He indicated the cameras will be installed later this month or as weather permits. Garfield’s original two for the park, which were put up in December 2011, have been deemed unsatisfactory.
“Those were with outdated software; they weren’t stand-alone,” said Garfield City Councilman Tim Southern. “The new ones are wireless, high-quality so we can actually see things clearly. We’re just being proactive, just being cautious.”
Garfield first used a security camera in the 2000s, with one monitoring the open-all-night lobby of the post office.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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