Robinson police to apply for license-plate camera grant; city share estimated at $5,400

The Robinson City Council approved a resolution authorizing the Robinson Police Department to complete the application process for a Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority catalytic-converter grant program to install license-plate–reading (LPR) cameras.

A police department representative told the council the system "captures license plates and provides us an investigative tool when crimes happen here." The department described the vendor system as alerting staff to stolen vehicles and vehicles on agency hotlists and providing access to a nationwide database. The vendor name discussed in the meeting was "Flock" (referred to in the transcript as both "Vlok" and "Flock").

Officials outlined the cost and grant share: nine cameras cost about $27,000 total; the city’s share would be roughly $5,400 while state grant funds would cover approximately $21,000. The quoted unit cost without the grant was about $3,000 per camera, including equipment, installation and warranty. The contract described in the discussion includes installation and on-call repairs; the program was described as a one-year contract with an option to renew and the city may apply for the grant in subsequent years.

Council members asked operational questions: the cameras are pole-mounted with solar panels and send text and email alerts to designated personnel; alerts can include stolen-vehicle notifications and entries from Amber or Silver Alerts. The council placed approval of the department’s grant application on the consent agenda; the consent agenda passed by voice vote.