Alexandria to try a new strategy for catching criminals – readers and cameras for license plates – Alexandria Echo Press

Alexandria-a new approach to catching criminals will soon come to Alexandria-one that uses technology 24-7 instead of adding other officers.

A nationwide company, Flock Safety, will provide nine readers of license plates together with two Pan/Tilt zoom cameras at Alexandria's busiest intersections, including 50th Avenue and Broadway as well as the third and broadway. The equipment monitors and captures traffic on public roads and focuses on the most important entry into the city.

The cameras pursue or monitor no traffic violations such as speed crossing, executing a red light or a stop sign. They also do not pursue any license tieders.

At its meeting on Monday evening, the city council of Alexandria approved the application from police chief Scott Kent for the payment of herd security, 35,850 US dollars for the first year and an annual recurring amount of $ 33,000.

Kent said that criminal activities had become much more temporary.

“This system will help as a power multiplier to solve our crimes, and we can join a team of over 50 other cities in Minnesota that are already connected to these cameras with herd security,” said Kent.

Kent said his department works with Alp Utilities, Douglas County Highway Department, City Department Heads, Minnesota Department of Transportation, School District 206 Administration and Police Stations throughout the state.

“We have identified important locations in our city, record the data and the civil servants about vehicles that were suspected in Amber warnings, silver warnings, Kops warnings (warnings to law enforcement officers), stolen vehicles, vehicles, in criminal offenses in other states, immediately Caught and notified immediately, “said. “In addition to this information, we can search for the database for vehicles used to commit crimes in our community.”

The new system will deal with a challenge: In the past five years, hiring and replacing officials has been difficult, said Kent.

“The figures for enrollment in university formation are slowly increasing, but the state of Minnesota projects that 25% of the currently working police officers in the state will reach retirement age this and next year,” he said.

In the materials made available to the Council, Flock Safety said that law enforcement had a very low success rate in the investigation of local companies on camera shots. You can show a vehicle description, but rarely provide a license plate of a suspect.

Alexandria currently has no surveillance camera systems, says Flock Safety. For comparison, the city of St. Cloud has more than 450 surveillance cameras.

Kent gave an example of how herd security technology would have worked last year. A stolen vehicle left Interstate 94 and the driver stolen an ATM before giving away. If the system had been installed, the information about the stolen vehicle would have been forwarded to police officers within 20 to 30 seconds to stop the driver before steeling the money.

The police authority's budget comprises $ 75,000 in the equipment fund for the first facility, well within the prices of the herd Safety.

The Council closed part of its session to discuss a union dispute with the city's public work department.

The Council said that the meeting for a privilege of the lawyer, which is permitted under the law on open meetings of Minnesota according to the law.

The background was provided at the meeting in a memo by the city administrator Marty Schultz and read by Mayor Bobbie Osterberg:

The lawyer's privilege is available to protect a client in the course of the lawyer and client's professional relationship. It acknowledges that the judicial system can only work if the customer can fully disclose free facts to his lawyer without being afraid of prejudice.

For city councils, the privilege of the lawyer mandal applies if the city is a party for impending or pending legal disputes and if the compensation of the purposes of the lawyer mandant privilege against those who were served by the Open Meeting Act, the need for an absolute Prescribes confidentiality.

A petition in which the certification was requested as an exclusive representative for collective bargaining purposes was submitted to the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services by the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 49 for certain public work employees.

In the petition, a limited sub -group of public work employees is to be set up as a negotiating unit for collective bargaining. The city questioned this petition.

It was the position of the city that an appropriate negotiating unit would include all non -supervisory employees of the public work department and not only a small sub -group of these employees.

After an announced hearing, the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services stood with the union.

According to Schultz's Memo, the city's lawyers must confident with the Council's options and the strategy of the city.

These options include a potential appointment with the Minnesota Court of Appeal.

The discussion of the options and the strategy in the open session could prevent council members from freely discussing the case with the city's lawyers, and it would not protect the advice that the city's lawyers will protect the council Memo. Therefore, the memo dictates the needs of absolute confidentiality, it says in a compensation for intentions that the lawyer mandant privilege against those that are due to the law on the open session, the need for absolute confidentiality.

As recommended by the planning commission, the Council approved a final Plat for the Schildt Homestead Addition, Deborah Schildt and others.

The encore is a 3.84 hectare property on Cherry Lane Court, east of Zorbaz and near the L'Homme Dieu des Lake L'Homme. With the Plat, the owners can create a second lot. There are no public improvements in the Plat.

The Plat was approved with four conditions:

• Appropriate evidence for the title that the public prosecutor should be presented.
• Payment of the parking dedication fee of $ 500 before the final platform was published.
• Connection of every property to the public utilities, such as those requested by Alp Utilities and the Sanitary district of Alexandria Lake Area. The connection fee applies to Lot 1.
• Recording of the approved final platform within 100 days after the date of the Council's approval. After this date, approval and the Plat is considered void, unless the Plat has already been recorded.

In other zone division, the Council approved a text change for Section 10 of the city law – the zoning regulations of the city.

City planner Mike Weber outlined reasons for the change and explained that it will primarily update language and definitions. Some proposed changes will also clarify existing standards in the regulation. The recent changes to the city's Shoreland regulation also required updates.

The purpose of section 10 is to “protect public health, security and general well -being of the community and its people by establishing minimum regulations for the development and use of minimum regulations,” the code says. The regulation divides the city into user districts and places regulations regarding the location, construction, construction, reconstruction, change and use of structures and land.

The constitutional changes were approved “by reference”, which means that only a summary of the changes has to be published and not the entire 50-page document. A complete copy will be available in the town hall and on the city's website.

A limited usage permit with the Minnesota Ministry of Transport regarding the entrance sign “Alexandria – Easy to reach, difficult to leave” was approved.

The sign is located on the east side of Highway 29 north of the 50th Avenue.

The main goal of Mndot in the approval is to ensure that it has no responsibility for maintenance or liability in connection with the sign.

The sign belongs and insured by the city. If necessary, public work on the sign and the adjacent reasons offer maintenance.

The approval with Mndot has expired. The new approval will only take place on April 1, 2034.