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Council approves purchase of three solar Sentry Pro camera trailers for special events and targeted surveillance
Summary
Norwalk City Council approved purchase of three solar‑powered Sentry Pro 3 camera trailers to expand mobile surveillance capacity at special events and targeted public‑safety locations; staff said the purchase was budgeted in FY24–25.
The Norwalk City Council approved the purchase of three solar‑powered Sentry Pro 3 camera trailers to expand the city’s temporary surveillance capacity at special events and to monitor areas of public‑safety concern.
Rita Ruiz, who presented the item for staff, told the council that the city currently has one operational camera trailer and one nonoperational unit. She said the second unit is damaged and that the recommended purchase replaces outdated trailers with three upgraded solar Sentry Pro 3 camera trailers. Ruiz said the fiscal impact is already included in the FY24–25 budget and therefore “no fiscal impact” would result from the purchase order.
Council members asked for implementation details: where cameras would be deployed, how monitoring would be handled, and how the city would measure use and effectiveness. Council Member Margarita Marillosa said she would like a deployment schedule and more detailed reporting on who monitors the feeds and whether monitoring is continuous. City Manager Jesus Gomez and other council members noted the trailers have been useful at recent events and in targeted sites with transient activity.
The council moved the consent calendar with item 10 pulled; the surveillance trailers (consent item 18) remained on the consent calendar and were approved as part of the consent action recorded by roll call. City staff said trailers have been positioned at locations including a former Caltrans surplus site and at public events where they fed imagery to an Emergency Operations Center or command post for real‑time monitoring.
Why this matters: The cameras are used for crowd management at special events and targeted monitoring at sites flagged for transient activity or vandalism; councilors sought clarity on a deployment plan and monitoring protocols.
Next steps: Staff will provide a deployment schedule and additional reporting about monitoring and usage when requested by councilors.
