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An image of a camera microsensor offered by Liveable Cities. (Liveable Cities)
cameras

Air Ronge council seeks trial agreement for video surveillance of village streets

Oct 25, 2023 | 4:31 PM

Air Ronge council hopes to enter into a trial agreement with Liveable Cities to install cameras on light poles throughout the village.

The topic was discussed at a regular council meeting this week, where Deputy-Mayor Kristy McDougall reported an estimated cost by Liveable Cities for 10 cameras to be $22,730. With $60,000 originally earmarked by council for the project, she noted it would be a good idea if council moved forward with 15 or 20 units.

With SaskPower estimating the cost to the village will be $300 annually per camera, that works out to $6,000 per year for 20 cameras to keep the system operational.

“I think there should be more conversations with SaskPower since this is a community safety initiative,” she said.

“I don’t know if it will make a difference and maybe there are some grants that can subsidize this as well.”

Liveables Cities is headquartered in Nova Scotia and the company offers solutions for video and community safety, traffic analytics, noise and speed monitoring, air quality measurements and more. Specific to video and community safety, Liveable Cities offers single and dual camera microsensors that can work on any streetlight with a standard socket.

The solution offers passive video monitoring (unmonitored) and remote video retrieval with up to seven days of video storage. The camera microsensors can be used as a preventative and post-incident investigative tool.

“I think we need to try it,” said Mayor Julie Baschuk.

“The conversation with our staff sergeant (Dean Bridle) was it’s unfortunate that it is the way that society is moving, and surveillance is just one of those measures now that we need.”

Air Ronge council has been working on the closed-circuit television camera initiative since April 2022 as a means to address safety and crime in the community. Administration was originally seeking a solution from SaskTel, but options proved to be inconsistent with council’s budget and needs.

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

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