Kevin, a parks staff member overseeing the project, demonstrated the new park surveillance system at the Logosport Parks and Recreation Board meeting on Sept. 10, saying the system will increase coverage at high‑use trailheads and park facilities and provide analytics for marketing and security. The cameras record continuously and retain footage for about 30 days, Kevin said, and the system can generate pedestrian and vehicle counts and show movement paths across multiple cameras.

The system uses a mix of point‑to‑point connections and cellular gateways; Kevin said the department obtained access to FirstNet, the broadband system used by first responders, to reduce congestion and improve reliability. “We were fortunate enough to be able to get onto the FirstNet system,” Kevin said. He said gateways will be moved to harder‑to‑reach sites and that several parks — including Houston Park, Little Turtle, Spencer Park and Fairview — are being equipped or upgraded. Kevin said the rollout is roughly seven cameras short of completion and that he expects near‑completion by the end of the month or into early October.

Board members asked about costs and access. Kevin said the program was approved as a lump sum at a city council meeting and that the total contract is roughly $125,000 spread over three to five years (about $37,000 per year). He said the vendor provides a 10‑year warranty covering defects and next‑day replacement. Regarding access and privacy, Kevin said footage is stored on the vendor’s secure site and is protected by multi‑factor authentication; access is limited to designated staff and staged installers during setup. “They are not public,” Kevin said of the recordings, adding there are multiple steps required to view footage and that clips can be shared selectively with police.

A resident, Joseph Stackhouse, urged the board to ensure strong security settings and reminded the group that the camera vendor previously faced a high‑profile data exposure incident; he said vendors have since added protections such as two‑factor authentication. Board member Jason said the technology is useful but urged caution about tracking license plates, clothing and faces and noted privacy trade‑offs when systems can identify individuals and vehicles. Kevin and board members agreed to keep the police department and other partners informed as the rollout continues.

The department said analytics from the system will support programming and event planning — for example, counting attendees at Christmas in the Park and tracking trail usage — and that some cameras will automatically zoom on detected persons and vehicles and can produce searchable snapshots (e.g., clothing color or vehicle make/model) across cameras. No new formal policy was adopted at the meeting; staff said they will continue installations, coordinate with the Police Department, and provide access at different permission levels as needed.