Commissioners express frustration at timing of info packets
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
CALN – The township will purchase six cameras to place in police cars as approved in a vote at Thursday night’s board of commissioners meeting.
Manufactured by Watchguard, the six cameras will cost $10,400 a year over the course of five years in a lease-to-own program. The devices will contain cameras pointing in front of the car as well as cabin cameras. In addition, there will also be microphones in the cabin of the cars and on officers’ lapels and GPS systems to track car movements.
Commissioner Cynthia Eshleman said that the precaution was important to her because she lost a cousin in the line of duty, and the camera in his car played a role in bringing the shooter to justice.
The decision did not come without a fair amount of discussion, and the final purchase is pending questions from Commissioner Jim Kruse. Kruse said that the board did not have enough information to vet the deal properly. He wanted more specifics on the camera models and to look at other models that could be used. Eshleman said that the board was provided with sufficient information at a previous budget meeting.
“I don’t have a problem voting on it, but I haven’t even seen it,” said Kruse.
The board said one of the reasons causing disagreements like this is members not being provided with information packets until the week of meetings. In particular, Kruse pointed out that some of the information about the cameras was accessed on Feb. 11 and not given to them until this week. Board members said that this was a regular occurrence despite previous requests to have information sent to them the week before meetings.
Township Manager Greg Prowant is in charge of compiling the packets and sending them to commissioners. He said that with business and board meetings, sending packets the week before the meeting gives only six business days to gather information.
Eshleman said that he can send most of the information the Friday before meetings and send remaining information as it comes in. Commissioner Josh Young said that in the week leading up to commissioners meetings, he has to balance other government meetings as well as a regular job, and receiving information on Friday would give him the weekend to vet items.
In other news, the township is to pursue a grant to create a park along the creek near Lincoln Highway. The project will cost $35,000 and cover four acres. Caln will apply for two grants to help cover the cost, approving votes to pursue a Chester County Open Space Grant and a PECO Open Space Grant on Thursday. The county grant could cover half of the cost of the park, and the PECO grant could cover $8,750.
Also regarding township parks, commissioners turned down two men looking to construct a dog washing device in Caln Park. Carlos Nelson and Bill Russo presented schematics for a unit that would allow dog owners to shampoo, condition, and rinse their dogs. But at $10 a wash, commissioners worried about setting a precedent that could lead to an influx of private businesses in the public park. Board President John Contento said that he liked the idea of having the device in the park, but he does not know where commissioners would draw the line in the future.
Police Chief Joseph Elias commended township Superintendent of Life Safety Ray Stackhouse for his involvement in resuscitating a resident last fall. Along with Officer Nate Miller, Stackhouse responded to a cardiac arrest call, saving the patient’s life en route to a full recovery.
“Your training, dedication, and professionalism resulted in a family not losing a loved one,” said Elias.
