City officials will consider spending $110,000 for digital cameras and alarms to improve security at several facilities with previously reported incidents, as well as spending $125,000 for new license plate readers to help the Ocala Police Department solve crimes across the area.
The purchases will be decided by separate votes during the Ocala City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, August 20.
According to a memo prepared by staff from the city’s information technology department, one of the purchases would be for physical security equipment from Morse Communications, a Melbourne-based company that sells technology and security solutions.
That equipment would include digital cameras, building access controls, and alarms with an “estimated expenditure not to exceed $110,000.” The city says that the additions are necessary to fill gaps that were identified through security assessments and audits conducted earlier this year.
Those audits identified “deficiencies present within physical security controls established at key facilities and areas throughout the city of Ocala,” according to the memo from IT staff.
Staff says that the need for “additional physical security controls” is evident through previous “security incidents” at the locations in question.
There are five locations that will receive the equipment, including the Ocala Skate Park (517 NE 9th St) and the Heritage Nature Conservancy (2005 NE 3rd St).
In 2022, the Ocala Skate Park temporarily closed as crews cleaned up vandalism. This past July, the skate park received over a dozen new art panels created by local artists.
The funds for the equipment are budgeted as part of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 in the “appropriate physical security capital improvement project accounts among varying departments” in accordance with the budget, according to city staff.
In a separate request on Tuesday, the Ocala Police Department will seek approval to purchase $125,047 in license plate reader cameras and associated accessories, including communications boxes, sun shields, and brackets.
The city has been using license plate readers since May 2018, with OPD saying that the cameras have become “instrumental in increasing the solvability of crimes and enhancing response measures in daily police work.”
The devices are L5F Fixed License Plate Reader (LPR) Cameras made by Motorolla. According to a memo from OPD, the purchase will be made through a contract established by the National Association of State Procurement Officials with Motorolla Solutions, Inc. That contract, which is in effect in other states and municipalities, defines purchase prices for various law enforcement devices, including body-worn cameras, vehicle-mounted video and recording devices, interview/interrogation room video and recording devices, and video storage/data security software.
Funding for the city’s purchase of license plate reader cameras was previously approved as part of the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Ocala Police Department budget plan.
The Ocala City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 4 p.m. at Ocala City Hall (110 SE Watula Avenue).
