The City of Lathrop values its parks and the recreational opportunities that they provide residents.

And if the Lathrop City Council ultimately agrees, the city will take a step towards enhancing security and surveillance at its parks to ensure that those amenities stay desirable for the local families that currently use them.

On Monday, Lathrop city staff are going to request that the council approve spending $10,000 to hire IXII Group, Inc. to provide input into the technology platforms that the city could potentially implement as part of an extensive camera and surveillance system that would initially debut at three city parks.

According to the staff report prepared for the council, the city met with IXII Group and toured three parks in the city – Apolinar Sangalang Park on Slate Street, Manuel Valverde Park on 5th Street, and Woodfield Park off of Lathrop Road – to scout potential configurations for cameras that would provide both real-time and recorded feeds to enhance security and discourage any potential illegal activities.

The meeting was a furtherance of previous council action that occurred last year when the body voted to create a capital improvement project that would fund the expenditure while at the same time giving staff direction to assemble proposals on the configurations of the system and the cost associated with implementing them.

With the help of the consultant, staff will not be prioritizing real-time monitoring of the parks – giving the Lathrop Police Department the opportunity to see what is happening as it is happening from the convenience of their patrol vehicles.

The City of Ripon, which Lathrop contracts with for dispatch services, was one of the first in the country to premiere a citywide MESH network built by Motorola that allowed police to see the real-time feeds from cameras across the community while they were inside of their patrol vehicles. Those feeds are also monitored by dispatchers inside of the city’s Wilma Ave. police department building.

Money for the contract already exists in the CIP that was previously established by the council last year. The work produced as part of the contract will likely lead to a proposal for the cost of the system that will come back before the council in the future.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.