Council backs ARPA-funded pilot for park security cameras and license-plate readers, asks for privacy safeguards

Spokane Valley City Council on Feb. 18 gave staff consensus to bring forward motions to fund two American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pilot projects aimed at supporting law enforcement: a three-year park security camera pilot proposed at $350,000 and a fixed automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) pilot proposed at $468,000.

Deputy City Manager Eric Lam and Police Chief Dave Ellis described both projects and said staff would return to council with formal motions and implementation details. Lam said the ARPA allocation for law-enforcement-related equipment and one-time projects left approximately $818,000 available; staff sought to balance cameras and ALPRs within that remaining balance.

Chief Ellis described ALPRs as a tool that “automatically capture license plate numbers” and cross-checks plates against law-enforcement databases for stolen vehicles, wanted persons or alerts. He cited recent cases in which ALPRs helped identify vehicles connected to crimes, including a violent incident where a nearby ALPR helped confirm and locate a suspect’s vehicle.

The park-camera proposal — $350,000 for acquisition, installation and three years’ maintenance/storage — would add an estimated 30 to 40 cameras focused first on the city’s highest-call-volume parks (Appleway Trail, Browns Park, Valley Mission Park, Mirabeau Point Park and Sullivan Park) while placing at least one camera in most parks. Lam said the cameras would be integrated with the regional Real Time Crime Center for analytics and real-time viewing when needed. The city’s adopted policy would limit storage to 30 days absent evidentiary needs.

Council and public members asked about privacy safeguards, whether cameras are fixed or pan/tilt/zoom, data retention, who can view footage and connections to the Real Time Crime Center. Lam said cameras would not look inside bathrooms and would be sited where visitors could reasonably expect public video surveillance; staff favored purchased cameras with contract maintenance to maximize camera count and allow Real Time Crime Center integration. IT Manager Chad Nodel said typical camera lifespans are roughly 5–7 years (often up to 10), and the pilot’s three-year operations funding would let the city measure effectiveness before committing to ongoing costs.

Chief Ellis said ALPRs are generally deployed as fixed units for round‑the‑clock coverage rather than mobile units on patrol cars that may be offline. He described the ALPRs as taking still images of plates (not occupants), cross‑referencing databases, and automatically deleting data after 30 days unless tied to an investigation. The ALPR vendors discussed handle installation and ongoing maintenance in the vendor model presented; staff said the proposed budget would conservatively support about 26 fixed ALPR units depending on installation costs.

Public commenters expressed both support and concern. Several residents said cameras would boost park safety and thanked council for proposing them; others raised privacy questions and asked that cameras avoid facing private residences. Councilmembers asked for measurable metrics — reductions in incidents, investigative hours saved, and recovered property — to assess the pilots’ value.

Council gave staff consensus to return with formal motions to allocate up to $350,000 for the park-camera pilot and up to $468,000 for ALPRs, and asked staff to return with implementation specifics, measurable outcomes and a privacy/acceptable-use policy for council approval.