Naples Selectmen order camera equipment

By Dawn De Busk
Staff Writer

NAPLES – Parents teach their children to play nice in the sand box. Parents instruct their children not to take things that don’t belong to them, too.

A big sand box was the topic of discussion during the Naples Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday.

No, the town-owned supply of sand for winter road maintenance has not been pillaged.

But, town officials would like to see the sand lot protected.

After all, it is the taxpayers’ sand pile. Plus, the taxpayers already approved paying for surveillance equipment to keep an eye on the Public Works’ building and the town’s fire station, according to Town Manager Derik Goodine.

Selectmen directed Goodine to roll ahead with the purchase of three cameras for a startup cost of $6,600, which was less than the amount approved at town meeting. An annual service fee of $500 would maintain the surveillance system.

“Three cameras would be mounted on or around the fire station. One camera would keep track of whether or not doors shut properly – a problem because of ice build-up,” Goodine said. The camera records the malfunction of the door, and the software system alerts the fire chief, he said. Goodine explained select personnel would have access codes, and could shut the door from an I-Phone, a Smart Phone or Blackberry.

In addition to making sure the fire department’s garage doors shut properly during the winter, the surveillance system will be used to monitor activity around the sand pile, and to provide peripheral views of the fire station, Goodine said.

Selectman Rick Paraschak brought up why residents supported having surveillance in place.

“After we closed the dispatch, we wanted to keep an eye on the place,” he said, adding “the money is budgeted, and it’s less than what we budgeted.”

According to Goodine, the camera will be able to record any vehicles that load up with town sand.

“Residents are allowed two 5-gallon buckets per storm. We have a canopy area for the public to get sand,” he said. For each storm, public works’ employees leave enough sand for community use so residents have no reason to be in the sand shed.

“At one time, we did have commercial haulers who appeared to fill up their trucks, or people pulling up and filling up their truck bed,” Goodine said.

“But, I don’t sit there and keep track of who pulls in and out of the sand shed so I can’t tell if that’s still happening,” he said.

Instead, a soon-to-be-installed surveillance system will watch the sand pile for him.