New security cameras will soon be coming to Wythogan Park, thanks to federal COVID-19 relief funding. The Knox City Council Tuesday approved the purchase of an eight-camera system from Vermillion Systems in Walkerton for close to $20,000.
“They’re good cameras, though, can do a lot of different things,” Mayor Dennis Estok said. “And we can take that out of the CARES Act. We got about $88,000 left out of the $114,000 of the CARES Act that we got.”
The mayor said the new system could be set up to let police officers monitor the cameras right from the laptops in their squad cars. “That’s what you kind of need because if somebody calls in or if they’re watching and see something, boom, they’ll be right down there.”
Now, the city needs to make sure the park has adequate internet access. Estok said Mediacom’s first cost estimate was about as much as the cameras themselves. He said the park office currently has phone and internet service from CenturyLink, but it may not be strong enough to work with the cameras.
