Residents praise storm response, urge action on courthouse plaques and removal of Flock cameras
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Summary
During matters from the public, residents praised the city's winter‑storm response, urged preservation of historic courthouse plaques, and pressed the city about automated license‑plate reader cameras from vendor Flock after the contract ended; the city manager said she would follow up on camera removal.
A series of public comments at the Feb. 12 Staunton City Council meeting touched on historic‑resource preservation, gratitude for storm response, and concerns about automated license‑plate reader cameras.
Grace Schuler, a Waynesboro resident, supported the Augusta County Veterans Memorial but urged council to avoid removing existing memorial plaques from the historic Staunton courthouse, saying removal "would not only damage the historic materiality of a registered historic resource" and could perpetuate segregation in how service is commemorated. Schuler asked the council to "seriously consider the removal and reuse of those plaques."
Dr. Mary Miller offered a tribute and read Maya Angelou’s poem "And Still I Rise." Several residents—including Deborah Kushner (calling in), Aaron Balmer, Brandy Hamblett and Mark Hopp—praised the city's snow‑and‑ice removal efforts and volunteer response, and urged continued transparency in follow‑up.
Caller Deborah Kushner asked about the status of Flock automated license‑plate reader cameras after the city's contract with Flock ended on Jan. 8, saying the public transparency portal continued to record photos and that some cameras remained in place. Kushner urged the city to consider an ordinance to bar "mass surveillance," raised concerns about Flock’s partnerships and potential scale of surveillance, and called for ongoing public involvement in decisions about surveillance technologies. The record shows the city manager told Kushner she would check on camera removal and "find out tomorrow." No council action was taken at the meeting.
