HHPNC Approves Funding for Security Cameras

The Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council on Thursday evening voted in favor of spending up to $6,000 to pay for Internet service for four security cameras that will be located on York Boulevard and Monte Vista Streets.

The neighborhood council voted in July to enter into an agreement with vendor R&D Systems to purchase the cameras for more than $50,000. The funds come from two sources: the board set aside $24,858 in 2009 to purchase the security system for the corner of York and Figueroa, the $31,049 for the Monte Vista cameras comes from Council District 1.

The funds approved on Thursday evening will pay AT&T for Internet service for the cameras, which will feed footage to the LAPD Northeast Station in Atwater Village.

The motion, made by former board member Rick Marquez, initially called for $10,000 to pay for Internet service and for maintenance. Marquez said he was previously under the impression that the board needed to enter a maintenance agreement with a contractor before the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment would bless their contract with R&D systems to purchase the cameras. However, at the meeting on Thursday evening, Marquez said he had been informed that DONE was ready to allow the purchase, regardless of whether a maintenance plan was in place yet. 

With that information in hand, HHPNC Vice President Hector Huezo made an amendment to Marquez's motion, which would limit the spending to $6,000, pending a report back from President Monica Alcaraz and LAPD Northeast Captain Bill Murphy on the total cost of Internet service.

Board member Tom "Clyde" Williams expressed concerns over the size of the expenditure, as well as ongoing commitment. 

"We're almost 50-percent committed with this vote for the year, and we're only four months into the year. What we're doing now is what should have been done in a committee, not in front of the whole board," he said. "Then, this is a lot of money for an operation that is maintenance, basically -- to get the cameras online not just for this year, but for the next year, and the next year and the next year."

In addition to providing service for the four new cameras, the funds approved on Thursday evening would pay service for four security cameras located on York Boulevard and Avenue 50, which are currently non-operational.