Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Technology topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Converse approves application for state Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention grant for LPRs, cameras and drone hardware
Summary
Council authorized submission of a grant application to the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority for license-plate readers, park cameras and a fixed drone deployment system; the police department said the equipment would be funded with seizure funds if awarded.
Converse City Council on May 6 approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to submit a grant application to the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority of Texas seeking funding for fixed license‑plate readers (LPRs), video cameras for parks and a deployable, fixed drone system.
Stella Calvillo, the city’s grant coordinator who returned from retirement to assist with the application, presented the police department’s request and said Chief Lane was available for questions. Chief Lane described the drone system as a station‑based, deployable drone that can be launched and piloted remotely; "it's a fixed...housing that it's kept in, and the drone can be deployed anywhere in the city. It can respond, you know, 3 to 5 minutes in the anywhere in the city. And the neat thing about it is it can stay in the air for about, you know, 3 hours. That's what they're telling me," Lane said.
Lane and Calvillo said the system and additional LPRs would help investigations, speed responses and conserve officer time; the police chief referenced a local shooting investigation and said drone rapid deployment could have aided response time. Council was told the city’s match for the project would not come from general taxpayers but from seizure funds, and staff said two separate resolutions were required by the grant authority: one without dollar amounts (the authority's form requirement) and one authorizing the city manager to apply and act on the grant.
The council voted to approve the resolutions and authorize submission of the application. Staff said if the grant is awarded the police department will follow federal, state and local rules for drone operations, coordinate with Randolph AFB and use established training channels for operators, including free training with the state where available.
Staff and the chief said the department already has some LPR installations and is coordinating additional camera installations with TXDOT and other partners. Council members asked about ongoing operating costs and were told the department would use seized funds for the city match and that training and coordination with state agencies can reduce costs.
