County parks to get cameras
By A. E. Gualtieri
Staff Writer

Vandalism. Graffiti. Bullying. Robbery.

All of the above have occurred at facilities owned by Union County and run by the Division of Parks and Recreation within the last two years, according to Director Charles Sigmund.

As a result, the Board of Chosen Freeholders last week approved a resolution, sponsored by Bette Jean Kowalski, to install closed-circuit surveillance cameras at several county facilities.

Consolidated Construction Management Services Corporation, of Colts Neck was awarded a $92,000 contract to design the camera system.

David Coats, vice president of CCMS, said his firm will design the camera system and provide drawings ,and specifications to the freeholder board so that the board can put the construction of the system itself out to bid.

"There's an awful lot of details to develop," Coats said. "We're going to evaluate all the places they want to put the cameras, the types of cameras, how to run electricity to them, the type of camera mounts, and then we'll submit it to the freeholders."

Coats said his company, which primarily consults on public safety systems such as the proposed closed-circuit surveillance system, would not build the system.

"The actual construction and purchase of the equipment will be done by someone who has yet to be determined," he said, adding that the bid for that part of the project would most likely go out later this year.

Sigmund said the camera system will act as both a deterrent and as a means to catch those who would deface public property.

"We would benefit to have photography and video of people" who commit these acts, he said.

Sigmund said that vandalism and graffiti at county facilities costs taxpayers "thousands of dollars a year" to repair or remove across Union County's 30 parks and recreation facilities.

The facility most recently affected was the new 10-acre, $1.9-million Phil Rizzuto Park, which opened less than a year ago. Almost immediately after it opened, there was damage to the equipment and facilities. - See the Accompanying Photo>

According to Sigmund, Rizzuto Park has not been the only facility affected. There have been instances of vandalism and damage at other parks, as well as a robbery at one of the county's golf courses two years ago. Thefts at the revenue-producing facilities are a primary factor behind this measure.

The camera system would help police to keep the parks secure, county officials said. The cameras would be positioned at the parks for surveillance of remote areas and facilities that are not already under continuous surveillance.

The feed would be monitored by county police at the police headquarters on North Avenue in Westfield, making the camera system a joint project between the parks department and the Department of Public Safety.

While the freeholders were unanimous in their support for the system, not everyone sees 24-hour surveillance of public areas as a positive thing.

"It will be on 24 hours a day, which means there could be observation of people's everyday activities," said Bruce Paterson of Garwood, invoking a reference to the classic Orwell novel "1984" and citing privacy issues. "I have to take exception to this," the former Republican freeholder candidate said.

The American Civil Liberties Union also says that closed-circuit monitoring systems are invasive. There is no evidence they deter crime, the ACLU claims, and there have been cases where the systems have been abused, as in a case last year where a suicide caught by closed-circuit police surveillance cameras in New York City was found on a pornographic web site.

Sigmund, however, insists that privacy concerns are a non-issue in this case.

"This is not `1984' and not is it an attempt to spy on park users," he said. "This is much more to dissuade vandalism or acts of graffiti than to punish."

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Courtesy of The Echo Leader - January 20, 2005 Issue
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