Committee weighs consolidating panic alarms, access control; may wait for grant to link systems

Lee County facilities staff briefed the Facilities and Maintenance Committee on plans to consolidate several panic-alarm systems and update access control, but members said the committee may delay purchasing until they learn whether a grant will fund a broader, integrated upgrade.

Becky, committee staff, and Pat, a county representative, described an existing plan to consolidate five separate panic/alarm systems into a single umbrella system that would eliminate multiple phone lines and standardize monitoring. Becky told the committee that a vendor had estimated about $130 per new panic button and that the vendor would provide a final tally after assessing the entire building.

Pat said the county had included an alarm upgrade in a recent grant application (referred to in the meeting as the “Torch” grant) that — if awarded — could pay for linking the building’s system with the system across the street so that alarms would be relayed to the same radio and first‑responder channels. Committee members generally favored waiting to finalize the county purchase until the grant outcome is known; one member said, in essence, “we might want to postpone this a little bit” until grant status is clear.

Staff also reported that Procom had finished installing a card reader on the south main door and that Chief Aleph Bodmer had been distributing access cards. Committee members discussed practical issues such as who will have administrative access to control door schedules (holidays, snow days, elections) and backup plans if the primary bailiff or administrator is not available on closure days.

The committee adjourned after a motion from Dean Fruit, seconded by Mike Pearson.