The Meridian City Council voted Tuesday to move forward with construction of a Real Time Crime Center at Meridian Police Department and approved almost 70 dilapidated structures for demolition.

 

The council voted unanimously to approve a $290,662.91 contract with Pileum Corporation for an integrated LED wall that will be used by MPD to provide round-the-clock monitoring of city camera networks. Pileum was recommended to receive the contract despite being $30,000 more than a competing bid due to additional parts, faster service and a longer warranty.

 

Gabrielle Jones, manager of information systems for the city of Meridian, said Pileum offered a 5-year warranty on its products and could have someone on site to make emergency repairs within a day. The other bidder, she said, offered warranties ranging from one to three years on different parts and would need 48 hours to respond to an emergency situation.

 

Once the council’s order is processed, it will take roughly six weeks to order the parts and get them to the police department for installation. Once there, an additional two weeks will be needed to install the LED wall, program it and bring everything online.

 

Assistant Police Chief Patrick Gale said work is currently ongoing at the RTCC, which is attached to the south end of the police station. Interior walls are going up, he said, and the project is on track for the LED wall installation when it arrives.

 

The City Council previously approved the creation of six new positions at the police department for people to monitor the RTCC when completed. Gale said Tuesday those positions have been filled, and employees are in the process of training for the job. Once up and running, the RTCC will give MPD the ability to view live video from cameras at city parks, properties and other locations throughout the city, he said.

 

“We’ll be able to monitor all city cameras once we go online,” he said.

 

Meridian’s RTCC is being built using cloud-based Fusus software that will also allow for residents and business owners to tie their cameras into MPD’s network as well. Gale said business or homeowners will be able to purchase a Fusus core and set up which camera feeds they want to share with MPD.

 

More information about the Fusus cores and how private individuals and businesses can get them will be pushed out after the RTCC is brought online, Gale said.

 

House Demolition

 

The City Council on Tuesday also voted to condemn almost 70 homes and move forward with hiring a contractor to demolish them. In a public hearing, council members reviewed 75 properties presented by city code enforcement officers as creating a menace to public health and safety.

 

Of the 75 properties, six were temporarily removed from the condemnation list after council members agreed to give the owners 90 days to address the city’s concerns. An additional property was already demolished by the owner prior to the hearing.

 

Councilman George Thomas said he would like to see signage at the condemned properties so residents driving by will see the city is working to address the problem. With nothing posted, it gives the appearance that the city is not taking action, he said.

 

While signage is an option, Code Enforcement Officer Terrell Thompson said the department does not like to advertise which properties are condemned as they attract people looking to steal scrap metal and take part in other illicit activities.

 

With the properties condemned, Community Development Director Craig Hitt, whose office is over code enforcement, said the city will move forward with advertising for bids for demolition and getting a contract signed.