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River Heights council approves electronic lock purchase for city building basement
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Summary
At its March 18 meeting the River Heights City Council approved a purchase order for an electronic lock and master key/fob system for the city building basement, accepting a higher initial cost to enable a citywide system over time.
River Heights City Council on March 18, 2025 approved a purchase order to install an electronic lock and software on the city building’s basement door, advancing a plan to move the city toward a common fob/master-key electronic access system.
Council members said the first lock is the most expensive because it includes software and infrastructure that would allow future doors to be added to the same system. That long-term plan was the main justification for approving the more expensive unit rather than a cheaper keypad product suggested by a public commenter.
The purchase followed public comment from resident Britney Casio, who suggested lower-cost keypad-and-app products used in her community studio. "We have a lock over for our studio space that has, like, a keypad and it has an app that goes with it and you can set, like, codes that work for certain periods of time," Casio told the council.
Clayton Nelson, River Heights public works director, described the city’s reasoning. "The first one is always the most expensive because it comes with all the software," Nelson said, adding the system being purchased would allow the city to add other doors and manage access centrally. Nelson also identified a SALTO lever component in the PO line items and noted that exterior hardware can raise costs for some doors.
Council members compared costs cited during the meeting: the bid lists a SALTO lever around $1,200 for some exterior hardware, the council recalled recent school locks at about $750.58 each, and a subsequent vendor estimate to add another door in the same system was discussed as low as roughly $300 depending on door wiring and power needs. Council and staff also raised concerns about keypad durability in public settings and whether a keypad solution would meet the city’s long-term master-key goals.
A motion to approve the purchase order passed with unanimous voice vote. The council and staff agreed staff would follow up on pricing for adding additional doors and on specifics of the bid before wider rollout.
The council discussion and vendor details indicate the city is moving toward replacing the two-decade-old master-key system with an electronic fob/card approach that would standardize access across municipal buildings over time.