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Sheriff seeks ALPR cameras; commission hears juvenile detention allocation will rise under regional agreement
Summary
Sheriff Russell Thornton told commissioners that FLOCK license-plate cameras are being installed regionally at about $3,000 per camera per year and that a 2026 regional juvenile detention agreement increases Ottawa County's bed allocation from 87 to 184, raising quarterly costs to roughly $9,000.
Sheriff Russell Thornton told the Board that Highway Patrol and most surrounding counties are installing FLOCK automatic license-plate readers and that Ottawa County's cost estimate is about $3,000 per camera per year; he said he has applied for a grant but had not received a decision. Thornton also said the county recently received the 2026 Regional Juvenile Detention Center Agreement, which increases Ottawa County's bed allocation from 87 to 184 based on a five-year average, and that the new allocation would cost the county about $9,000 per quarter under the contract formula.
Thornton said he believes the detention-bed number is "very high" given the remainder of the year still to run and said the county cannot change the allocation because it is determined by the regional formula. Commissioners asked clarifying questions but did not take immediate action; Thornton also noted traffic-safety work on K-18 including rumble strips and reflective signs.
