Decatur, GA — The Decatur Police Department will soon get new security cameras to be installed at the department. The city commission at its July 17 meeting approved a contract with Johnson Controls worth $28,180.36 and approved a project budget of $30,000 for the improvements.
The city commission approved this contract and other agenda items with a 3-0 vote. Mayor Patti Garrett, Mayor Pro Tem Tony Powers and Commissioner Kelly Walsh were at the meeting, and Commissioners Lesa Mayer and George Dusenbury were not in attendance.
“Johnson Controls currently operates our access control and cameras within the police department now,” Police Chief Scott Richards said. “The police department is approximately nine years old, and a number of the cameras at the police department need to be upgraded. Additionally, there are locations inside the building that did not have cameras when it was built that need cameras now to eliminate any security risk that we have.”
The additional cameras will provide further surveillance inside and outside the police department and parking lots and provide a safer environment for the community and city employees, Richards added.
Five new cameras will be installed by Johnson Controls, which includes installing two new cameras in the 911 center. Two cameras will be removed from the 911 center and installed in other areas inside the police department.
In other business:
– The Decatur City Commission approved a contract with CGS, LLC in the amount of $57,850 and established a project budget of $80,000 to upgrade the commercial kitchen in Hawkins Hall at Legacy Park.
The kitchen area in Hawkins Hall has three separate kitchen spaces. The project will make code renovations for the commercial kitchen. Legacy Decatur Executive Director Madeleine Henner said the organization is working on leasing the space to a nonprofit tenant and the renovations are necessary for Legacy Decatur to use the space.
“The parts of the project will be putting in a new dock that’ll be ADA accessible. That’s at the side of our building where we have a lot of parking,” Henner said. “We are excited to have that replaced and have Legacy Park continue to grow as a place people want to come and celebrate.”
An ADA bathroom will also be added in the back part of the kitchen, and some of the plumbing will be moved into the warming kitchen.
“The final pieces of that will be installing a fire door between the commercial kitchen that we’ll lease out from the rest of the building, so should there be an emergency, folks can exit through the event space, but it would alert the rest of the building,” Henner said. “We encourage that the main entry and exit will be through that dock and ADA ramp.”
– The city commission approved the purchase of a Case 580SN Loader/Backhoe for $111,890 from GJ&L, Inc. and authorized the city manager to execute the five-year lease purchase financing through the Georgia Municipal Association.
“This equipment will allow the cemetery crews to safely and efficiently open and close grave sites with dependable equipment,” Assistant Public Works Director Felix Floyd wrote in a memo. “The equipment offered in the quote meets or exceeds all requirements for the Cemetery Operation.”
– The city commission approved the purchase of a pre-owned 2013 Tymco 600 Regenerative Air Street Sweeper for $114,900 from Sinclair Equipment Finance, LLC. The board also approved a resolution to execute a supplemental lease to finance through the Georgia Municipal Association direct lease financing program.
“The GMA lease pool does not normally finance used equipment,” Deputy City Manager David Junger wrote in a memo. “The total cost of the equipment is approximately $114,900. The city will be obligated to [four] annual payments of approximately $32,000 starting this fiscal year. The capital purchase is budgeted and approved in the fiscal year 2023-2024 Solid Waste Enterprise fund budget.”
– The city commission approved an ordinance to levy the City Schools of Decatur’s millage rate of 20.3 mills. The Decatur School Board approved its final millage rate on June 15.
“As a reminder, the school board is the recommending authority by law, and also by law the city commission is the levying authority, and by law, the levying authority shall adopt the millage rate that is recommended to it by the recommending authority,” City Manager Andrea Arnold said.
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