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Sep 17, 2023

New camera system needed at Carbon Hill City Hall

The Carbon Hill City Council recently heard Magistrate Madison Gurganus say the security camera system needs to be replaced for the jail, City Hall and the police department. CARBON HILL - The Carbon

The Carbon Hill City Council recently heard Magistrate Madison Gurganus say the security camera system needs to be replaced for the jail, City Hall and the police department.

CARBON HILL - The Carbon Hill City Council recently heard Magistrate Madison Gurganus say the security camera system needs to be replaced for the jail, the City Hall and the police department.

The statements were made at the Aug. 24 council meeting.

Out of sixteen hard-wired cameras, which are only two or three years old, four are in disrepair. The company involved has not been helpful in getting the cameras replaced, so quotes have been obtained.

"One was for $20,000 to $25,000 for 12 cameras. A few of the ones that we have are really not needed, so we do need 12," she said. "That is from Edge SCTV out of Birmingham, and the other is from Jackson Security (Services in Tuscaloosa). It is for $11,760.13. It comes with everything we need. They install it."

A 90-day warranty is given on the labor and a one-year warranty is given on the equipment by Jackson, she said. For an additional $30 a year, the city can have online access.

"The cameras we currently have only go to the hard drive and we can only go back so far," probably about a month, she said. "This would put everything we have online so we can access it at any time if we pay that $30 a year and if we pay $169 a year in addition to that. That continues our warranty each year, and the company comes out and does maintenance on cameras."

Mayor David Phillips told Gurganus to get material ready for the council to look at and adopt at the Sept. 14 meeting.

In an unrelated matter, Gurganus also said $8,200 had been taken in payments so far this month, which reflects an increase.

In other action, the council:

• heard Phillips say the Carbon Hill Industrial Board will meet next on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in the council chambers at 6 p.m. The engineer working on the new park project near the Blue Gym will attend with criteria for parks and an estimate on how much it will cost to build a new park. He encouraged more people to come, saying the board likes feedback.

• heard Police Chief Clark Sanford give an unusually large activity report since the previous council meeting two weeks earlier: 71 warrants served with six new charges coming off of serving the warrants, as well as 18 citations. That is 95 total cases in the previous two weeks. In one day, 64 warrants were served. "They're working," Phillips said of the department.

• heard Fire Chief and Safety Director Buddy Smith say First Baptist Church members had pointed out an open drain in the ditch by their new parking lot as a safety issue, as they were afraid people walking could injure themselves. Street Superintendent Scott Jenkins said it has been caved in for some time and needs to be repaired. "You can shoot an arrow in any direction and we can find a problem and work on it," he said. Phillips asked the officials to look at it and come up with a plan.

• heard the Carbon Hill Rescue Squad will be selling a rescue squad cookbook from the families of rescue squad members. The cookbook can be picked up at Hillfest for $15. All the revenue will go to the rescue squad.

• heard Josh Freeland of Hero's Pool and Spa invite the council to his business, as it is expected to open by the time of Hillfest. The business will sell pool chemicals and do water testing, among other services. He started doing service on pools in the Birmingham area last year. "I want to bring something to Carbon Hill to get more people to come to Carbon Hill," he said.

• heard Hillfest will be held on Sept. 8-9. Organizer Anita Hill said the festival is seeking out sponsors, as sponsorship has been harder to find this year. She noted she is working to get a tent with air conditioning for older people at the dispatch office. Phillips said due to the need to get fire trucks and ambulances access to get out during Hillfest, "the idea I have is to block that street off at the intersection of Second Avenue and Third Street NW."