Commissioners pitched on security system for courthouse

Lincoln County commissioners took a first look at a possible solution to security camera problems in the courthouse and detention center last week.

The trio met with representatives from M2 Automation, an Idaho-based vendor specializing in fire alarms and security systems, during a Feb. 3 board of commissioners meeting. The firm is one of only a few that have expressed interest in overhauling the county courthouse and detention center, officials said.

Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short alerted commissioners to the problems flaring up with the surveillance camera system in the detention center in midsummer. Inmates cannot be placed in cells lacking live video feeds, he said.

The request coincided with a probe launched by county officials into possibly overhauling cameras throughout the courthouse complex. County Administrator Patrick McFadden said officials realized during a Black Lives Matter rally in June that the video captured in and around the building was of low quality.

But law enforcement officials emphasized that the situation in the detention center, which sits beneath the courthouse building, required immediate attention.

“Unfortunately, [there] is the tyranny of the urgent — that’s the downfall of all of this,” said Undersheriff Brad Dodson. “Our cameras are faltering now.”

Enter M2 Automation. Company representative Neal Timmerman told commissioners that were they to ink a deal, the county would only pay for their service. M2 Automation would handle equipment and maintenance, he said.

“Our agreement is one consistent line item; we take care of everything,” Timmerman said, describing the company’s business model as “outcome-based.”

Timmerman compared his one-stop shop with the typical model of procuring a security system. Redoing a camera system is a major planning event, he said, taking about a year to settle on a design and line up vendors. Older, but still functioning, equipment will get tied into the new setup. Add in periodic failures to the now ad-hoc system that will occur every three to five years, Timmerman said.

After a few of those, it’s time to start over again, he said.

“Our solution is one [budget line item] a year and it’s taken care of and if there are any issues, it’s our problem,” Timmerman said.

As an example, he estimated the cost of redoing the camera system in a jail through M2 Automation as about $14,633. From then on, the county would pay an annual fee pegged to the rate of inflation. Were the county to decide to end the arrangement, a contract clause guarantees an amicable transfer to a new vendor, Timmerman said.

When McFadden questioned the estimated price tag for installation, Timmerman said the value of the equipment vastly outweighed that cost. A server, which M2 Automation would install in the building, would run between $30,000 and $40,000, he said.

Were the county to arrange a deal with the company, M2 Automaton would first assume control of the old cameras before replacing it with their equipment. Timmerman anticipated the firm would handle both the courthouse and detention center systems.

“It’s one company to call, essentially,” he said. “It’s always nice to have everything consolidated.”

Dodson was on hand for the presentation. He told commissioners that while a couple of possible vendors had taken a look at the county’s problems, only M2 Automation had come up with a plan for the building.

“We talked about this last summer, about trying to move forward with a project,” Dodson said. “This is the only company from day one that was able to get here and have a plan. It’s been a difficult process.”

He admitted he initially found the idea of contracting for the service rather than buying a system a little off-putting. But tech companies seem headed in that direction and the sheriff’s office pays annual fees for other services it uses. Taser-manufacturer Axon, for example, has a similar arrangement with the county agency, he said.

“Something has to happen. We’re struggling downstairs,” Dodson said, alluding to the detention center. “You guys asked for some solutions and I’m trying to find some and this is one on the table.”

County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) thanked Dodson for looking for options. An arrangement with an outside vendor might prove more fiscally bearable, he said, especially compared to the more than $800,000 the county took out of payment-in-lieu-of-taxes funds to replace an aging dispatch system last year.

Commissioners directed McFadden to continue discussing the possible details of an arrangement with M2 Automation representatives.