The Statesboro City Council voted Tuesday to appropriate funding for security enhancements at 111 South Apartments on Rucker Lane.
The funding comes under the city’s ‘Security Enhancement Incentive Program’ and adds another property to the growing list of apartment complexes partnering with the Statesboro Police Department.
Security Enhancement Incentive Program
The program was established in hopes of helping “owners of multi-family and rental housing units identified in densely populated areas that are rented and not owned and are experiencing relatively high incidences of crime.” The city’s program seeks to provide ‘assistance’ for fences, gates, and other barriers to access as well as for security systems and access control systems.
The city will reimburse the property owner for 50% of the total project cost with a $20,000 cap. As a condition of the funding, the system must be kept in operation for at least three years, though monitoring expenses are paid entirely by the property owner.
Additional conditions include 7-day storage minimums for video footage, participation in the city’s Fusus Registry for video sharing, and HD video quality with night vision capabilities.
It is also required that applicants for the program be in good standing for city property taxes and city utilities.
In May 2024, the City voted to award $17,875 to Stadium Walk for cameras. Last month, the city council voted to approve $7,000 for Morris Heights. The City set aside $80,000 in ARPA funds for this program when it was created in 2023.
Quotes for Services
From the memo:
To fully understand this amended application, some history and context is necessary. 111 South utilized CableLink Technology, LLC to install their existing camera system several years ago. The system’s footprint covered the property effectively but has aged with time and is in need of updates or replacement. 111 South was also the first multi-family student housing complex to agree to network into SPD’s Fusus system. Due to the same age and maintenance related issues, Fusus service connecting with the location is often down. In March 2024, 111 South submitted three bids for what amounted to a complete replacement of the existing system, the lowest quote of which was from CableLink Technology, LLC in the amount of $39,939.00. That application for reimbursement under the Security Enhancement Incentive program was approved by Council unanimously on 4/16/24, with a projected reimbursable amount of $19,969.50.
Subsequent to Council’s approval of the reimbursement, the work quoted was not performed and no reimbursement ever took place. The camera system has continued to suffer from technical issues since. This second application, a sole source quote from the current vendor CableLink, proposes a more modest set of modifications. According to my conversation with Trent Sikes, CableLink owner, the proposed work will restore the existing cameras to functionality (and Fusus access) and will add updated infrastructure including an NVR, dedicated switch, and additional AI capable cameras at the entrance gates. The total quote for this amended project is $19,969.50 with an allowable reimbursement under SEIP policy of $9,969.50. As the current system is at the moment troubled but still capable when operable, restoring it to functionality while adding modern AI capable cameras at sensitive locations would seem to be a valid use of SEIP funds.
