San Benito commission backs plan to pursue interlocal for real-time crime center; several routine approvals also pass

San Benito — The City Commission on Jan. 21 authorized the city manager to pursue details of an interlocal cooperative agreement with local school districts and other partners to explore a real-time crime center, and directed staff to return with the proposed agreement for formal action.

City Manager Sandoval introduced the idea and presented it as a way to “create a platform and a controlled scenario” to unify the city’s existing cameras, access-control and alarm systems with school safety measures. Mike Garcia, a presenter with HID and member of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools, gave the commission a detailed presentation on how a real-time crime center could integrate access control, video and alarm systems and support coordinated emergency response.

Garcia said the effort is meant to be incremental: “Think Legos. Your real time crime center, which is run by the city, will be your Lego platform. Everything that the school buys, that you buy, that you purchase for safety and security will all clip into this Lego set and fit perfectly.” He described the approach as “crawl, walk, run,” beginning with access control and video and expanding as funding and needs allow.

City Manager Sandoval emphasized that the request before the commission was not to commit funds but to authorize staff to pursue a cooperative (interlocal) agreement and financing options. Sandoval said the city already operates cameras and access systems and that the interlocal would create a shared platform: “We're already doing this,” she said, noting the city’s existing investments in cameras and proximity access systems.

The commission voted to authorize the city manager to review the interlocal details and return with a draft for consideration. Commissioner Goodman moved the motion; Mayor Poten Galvan seconded. The motion passed with one dissenting vote from Commissioner Morales.

Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said a unified platform could speed responses to incidents at schools, parks and other city facilities and allow better coordination among the city, school districts and other partners when applying for grants. Multiple commissioners asked for a working group and more specifics — including cost estimates, staffing needs and a risk assessment — before final approval of any funding or a binding agreement.

Votes at a glance (formal actions recorded Jan. 21) - Motion to authorize the city manager to explore and return with the details of an interlocal cooperative agreement for a real-time crime center: Mover: Commissioner Goodman; Second: Mayor Poten Galvan; Outcome: approved (1 nay — Commissioner Morales). (Source: public discussion and final motion recorded in meeting transcript.)

- Consent agenda (items 3–15): Motion to approve the consent agenda excluding items pulled for separate consideration: Outcome: approved (unanimous among those voting). (Source: consent vote recorded in transcript.)

- Ratify Empowerment Endeavors LLC booking agreement for the 2025 Hogewater Concert (item 7): Motion to approve; Outcome: approved. (Source: post-executive-session vote recorded in transcript.)

- Approve local agreement between the City of San Benito and the San Benito Economic Development Corporation pertaining to the 2025 Hog Waddle event (item 16): Motion to approve; Outcome: approved. (Source: post-executive-session vote recorded in transcript.)

What’s next: Commissioners requested a working-group or workshop with the school district and other stakeholders and asked staff to return with a draft interlocal and cost estimates before any binding contracts or funding commitments.

Attribution: Quotations and attributions in this article come from the meeting transcript of the Jan. 21, 2025 San Benito City Commission meeting and from presenters identified in that transcript.

Ending: The commission’s authorization starts a staff-driven phase to draft interlocal terms and seek funding; the commission did not approve any funding at the Jan. 21 meeting and will consider a formal agreement after staff returns with specifics.