The Village of Telkwa is looking for more information before going ahead with purchasing security cameras.
“It’s a tough sell for everybody including myself when you start when you start looking at the price tag it’s very frustrating to be in a position where we’re looking at spending money on crime prevention in a village that’s already broke and struggling to pay for their core infrastructure,” Telkwa Mayor Darcy Repen stated.
The amount of vandalism happening in the village has Repen concerned and would like to see their assets protected.
“The reality is that we’re seeing fairly significant costs in terms of vandalism – obviously we have some really nice facilities here in the village that we want to make sure are protected…that’s why the discussion about the cameras has come up.” However, Repen added he’s not about spying on residents. “I’m certainly not an advocate for a big brother approach with the public.”
It all comes down to dollars and cents and that’s something that has Repen concerned.
“We have to balance the probability or possibility that this will be an effective determent or that it will allow us to follow-up and seek charges,” he said.
The cost for a single camera and attached backup, which would have to be stored in some type of warm building is quoted to be $1,000 which doesn’t sit well with Repen nor does the amount of damage to the village’s property in recent months.
“Obviously a thousand dollars for a camera with the attached backup is a steep price tag and at the same time I think we’ve seen $3,500 worth of vandalism take place.”
Repen added if the price was lower for the cameras it would be a “no brainer” for him.
Coun. Coralee Karrer inquired about the possibility of doing a trial run for the cameras or if it’s just simply a you bought it situation.
The security camera quote looked at the resolution in order to acquire facial recognition. Repen stated they’ve talked about trail cameras and other cameras, but the concern is those cameras may not have the same capabilities to capture a crisp image for facial recognition.
Ultimately council agreed that more information and more quotes are needed for a final report before taking it to a vote.
They are currently looking at putting cameras in three separate locations around the village.
In June, vandals damaged Eddy Park and caused more than $1,000 in damage including a stop sign and post being stolen, washroom toilet plugged with paper towels and destruction of a toilet paper dispenser, along with seven large floral hanging baskets at the gazebo torn down and destroyed.
In that case, charges have yet to be laid.