Punta Gorda council discusses creating city-run speed camera program for three public schools

Punta Gorda City Council on the pre-agenda meeting discussed exploring a city-run speed camera program that would cover three public schools in the city: Sally Jones, Punta Gorda Middle and Charlotte High.

Council members and staff focused on implementation, vendor oversight and enforcement logistics rather than approving a contract. Chief Pam Smith of the Thunderbird Police Department said the county already has a vendor in place and that the immediate question for the council is whether Punta Gorda wants to proceed with exploring a separate, city-managed school-zone camera program.

The council heard staff projections and operational details. Staff and the county vendor told the city that locations would first be screened for “heightened safety risk,” and that only the three public schools in the city met that threshold for this program. The vendor described a three-step verification process before a citation is issued: two human reviews plus a traffic enforcement officer designated by the city as a third check. Staff said citation issuance would be limited to specified school-day hours to avoid issuing citations when schools are closed.

Council members pressed staff on appeals, legal process and workload. Chief Smith referenced state guidance (described in meeting as a House Bill) that allows a code enforcement board to serve as the hearing body for citations. Rachel Berry, the city’s zoning official, said the code board typically carries “less than 10 cases on the agenda” and that a speeding citation “is not a very lengthy discussion item,” indicating the board could likely absorb appeals if the program generated the vendor-estimated caseload.

During discussion, staff cited vendor estimates that the program could initially generate about 60 citations a day in the city’s three school zones and that appeals historically run at about 3% of citations; staff also referenced experience elsewhere (Cape Coral) where citation counts were much larger citywide early in implementation but declined over time. Council members asked for a contract review to clarify vendor responsibilities for installation and maintenance, assignment of signage responsibilities to the city, and whether the city can “piggyback” on the county contract or must run a separate procurement.

No ordinance or contract was approved at the pre-agenda meeting. Staff were directed to return with more specific contract and procurement information and to invite the vendor to a future meeting to answer detailed technical and operational questions.

The council also discussed broader safety strategies — including targeted officer presence at schools during peak arrival and dismissal times — as complementary measures to automated enforcement.