By Ron Leir
KEARNY – Two major efforts are under way to enhance public safety for town residents.
One comes in the form of expanded “spy in the sky” technology; the other involves additional firefighting personnel.
Mayor Alberto Santos and the Town Council voted Feb. 21 to hire the Hackensack firm of EarthCam to install 11 closed-circuit surveillance tilt & zoom cameras on existing utility poles at locations to be designated by the town administrator in consultation with the Police Department, which will, ultimately, monitor the images, displayed in real time.
Of the 11 units, five will function as specialized “LPR” (License Plate Recognition) cameras, meaning that they will, as the name suggests, have the design capability of capturing a vehicle’s plate number, along with its make and model, according to EarthCam sales manager Todd Michaels, who briefed the governing body at its Tuesday night session.
Police can match the data collected by the LPR unit against information secured from national, state and local law enforcement computer data banks, Michaels said.
Leaving aside the LPR units, the six new cameras will double the existing number of street units previously installed by the town, according to Santos.
“If the LPRs are successful,” the mayor said, “we will consider acquiring more of them.”
Santos said the LPR cameras could help police identify vehicles that have been reported stolen or those that are unregistered, for example, but they won’t be used to nail drivers who go through red lights – a procedure that Bloomfield plans to utilize under terms of a contract with a private camera supplier it’s now in the process of negotiating.
For supplying the cameras and software, connecting them to the police wireless network and mounting the units on the poles, EarthCam will receive $75,872 under a state approved contract.
Officials estimated it would cost about $40 a month for Verizon phone line service for the wireless camera computer system.
Michaels figured it would take three weeks to assemble the camera system and another week to actually install the 11 units, although Town Administrator Michael Martello noted that actual implementation would depend on how quickly town technicians could upgrade the master computer’s SAN (Storage Area Network) to accommodate the additional data.
Santos and Martello said that two of the cameras would likely be situated at two municipal playgrounds that aren’t currently being electronically “watched.” Those are the Manor play area on Bennett St. between Hamilton and Jefferson Aves. and the Tappan St. play facility, they said.
As for the rest, Santos said the primary focus would be on “key entry points to the town.”
Among the intersections on the list for consideration are: Belleville Turnpike and Schuyler Ave.; Belleville Turnpike and Kearny Ave.; Passaic Ave. and Belleville Turnpike; Schuyler and Bergen Aves.; Passaic and Johnston Aves.; Johnston and Kearny Aves.; and Davis Ave. and Dukes St. near West Hudson Park.
Meanwhile, on the second safety front, the governing body voted to authorize Fire Chief Steve Dyl to apply for a federal Safe & Adequate Emergency Response grant for $482,580 to hire four new firefighters.
No local match by the town is required under the grant rules, he said. Dyl said that if the town got the money, it would fund the salaries, benefits and pension contributions of the four firefighters for up to two years so long as the Fire Department maintained its T.O. (Table of Organization) – staffing strength – at the level applicable to the time it got the grant.
If the town fails to live up to that condition, it could forfeit the funding, Dyl said.
The new additions to the Fire Department would be selected from a state Civil Service firefighter appointment list that just came out last week, Dyl said. Names of the top four candidates on that list couldn’t be readily learned at press time.
In other business, the mayor and council:
Agreed to apply for $793,800 in state Green Acres funding to turf the Little League East field and build an 8-foot-wide “all-season surface” track/fitness trail at the Gunnel Oval sports complex.
Authorized advertising for bid proposals for billboard advertising at three town-owned meadows locations – one off the Turnpike, one off Route 7 and one off Rt. 280 – as a potential source of revenue to the town.
Announced that property owners would have the option of paying their taxes online by the next local tax cycle under an agreement with Official Payments, a Georgia firm. Payers will be charged a 2.5% fee on credit card payments, $1.95 on bank transfers and $3.95 on debit card payments, according to Town Administrator Michael Martello. There will be no cost to the town for the service, he said.
Approved the installation of a four-way traffic stop at the intersection of Ivy and King Sts. and appointed Tatiana Reis as a permanent crossing guard at the Woodland and Highland Aves. post at $15.50 an hour. Reis has the highest seniority among the town’s reserve crossing guards, Santos said.
Deferred to March 13 consideration of an amended ordinance restructuring towing rates in town after hearing comments by local towers. Agreed to give Vineland Construction a one-year extension to remove truck trailers from property on Harrison Ave. near the Walmart.
