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Herington department updates: housing occupancy, LED upgrades, lake inspections and police camera issues
Summary
City staff reported progress on public housing occupancy and renovations, widespread LED lighting conversions in city buildings, ongoing water and sewer projects and dam inspections at Herington Lake; the police department said body-camera equipment is at end of life after a WatchGuard acquisition by Motorola.
City staff and department heads briefed the Herington City Commission on routine operations and capital priorities related to housing, facilities, streets and public safety.
Public facilities: Staff introduced Josh, recently promoted to public facilities manager, who oversees city-owned apartments and multiple municipal buildings. Josh said Homestead Village is about 80% occupied with four units under renovation and that two of those units are already reserved; Hilltop occupancy is just over 50 percent with a few units needing deep cleaning and HVAC repairs. On energy upgrades, Josh said the Hilltop conversion is about 80% complete and described savings from replacing multi-bulb fixtures with LED installations.
Streets and water: Street superintendent Merlin Oswald reported ditch work, culvert installations and tree clearing at the cemetery and lake. He said crews began clearing trees from the new lake dam and noted the state provided a risk assessment for Harrington Lake (transcript spelling); engineers inspected the dam in 2024 and another inspection is scheduled this month. Water and sewer crews completed a water line project on Trapp Street and began work on a sewer project that includes manhole installation; a contractor is televising lines as part of sewer cleaning.
Police: Sergeant Shamp reported 130 calls in the month and three arrests, said a new officer has started academy training, and noted WatchGuard body-camera systems are aging after WatchGuard’s acquisition by Motorola. "We're kind of at the max of what we got. So we either need to upgrade or get it at pretty much a new system," he said, calling replacement costly and describing the current approach as "limping it along."
No formal budget decisions were made during the reports; commissioners asked staff to assemble cost estimates for major projects and to return with details for inclusion in future budget discussions.
