Flossmoor trustees voted in the nick of time July 1 to use the remainder of grant money to help replace its aging video surveillance system with one from Quinlan Security Systems.
The grant had to be used by July 1 or the village would risk having to return the unused money, according to Acting Police Chief Keith Taylor.
The new system will cost $129,101. About $85,000 was budgeted for the project. Trustees allocated $46,550 left from an $80,000 grant to the project. The remaining $2,551 balance will come from the village’s capital equipment fund.
The $80,000 grant from the state was for combatting retail crime and was used earlier this year to purchase license plate reader cameras. Police use those cameras to spot vehicles that have been reported stolen or that are suspected of being used in committing crimes.
The new security system will cover the village hall campus and enable the village to keep an eye on municipal parking lots and the downtown area, according to Assistant Village Manager Jonathan Bogue.
He said the project has been deferred for several years. The village received one bid for a new camera system last year, but it was far too costly to accept. He and Taylor contacted Quinlan after receiving a recommendation from the village’s information technology provider.
The new system is expected to help reduce thefts in parking lots and help monitor village events.
Bogue said that unlike most similar products these days, the Quinlan system will not include recurring license fees, helping make it affordable.
The new system will not include new cameras for the public works facility at this time, but public works will be included when funding is available, Bogue said.