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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend July 23, 2005 Vandal-cams? City considers monitoring sites prone to vandalism By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Vandalism in city parks is worsening so the Medford City Council is considering installing surveillance cameras linked to the city’s wireless police communication network. Top on the list of sites needing a camera’s attention is the WinterSpring memorial in Donahue-Frohnmayer Park at Spring Street and Springbrook Road. Donna Taylor, executive director of WinterSpring Center for Living with Loss and Grief, which offers counseling for adults and children in bereavement, spoke to the council during its noon meeting Thursday. She said the inscribed stones at the site’s "Wall of Remembrance" have been defaced, the water feature has been vandalized, and in April a 75-year-old oak tree was toppled with a hand saw. For people grieving the loss of their spouses and children, this hits especially hard, and potential donors have said they’re hesitant to give a donation when there’s so much vandalism there, she told the council. Advertisement She said one person has offered a $1,000 reward to help catch anyone vandalizing the area, and the Medford police Crimestoppers program has doubled that to $2,000. Taylor’s remarks kicked off a council discussion. Councilman Bob Strosser highlighted graffiti problems in the Bear Creek skate park and vandalism in the new water spray area in Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, in addition to the problems at Donahue- Frohnmayer. "At what point do we want to try and address the security?" he said. Several council members said that the Parks and Recreation Department spends time and money cleaning up and repairing vandalized property, including the bronze chess player statue at Vogel Plaza, which was severely damaged when a driver rammed his sport utility vehicle into it in October. Strosser suggested the staff investigate surveillance cameras at parks and sites around the city that are regularly vandalized. The council unanimously supported the motion. The cameras would tie into the city’s high-tech communication system. In 2003, Medford police were the first agency in the nation to install a sophisticated communications system developed by the military. The $700,000 system, sold by MeshNetworks Inc. of Florida, was funded primarily by grants from the federal Department of Homeland Security. Phones, computers, laptops, electronic notepads and surveillance equipment can all be connected by wireless transmitters that police, fire and all city departments are linked to. At the time the system was installed, city staff said there was no intention to install cameras around town. There was public concern expressed in 2002 when police cameras that take still photos were installed at intersections to photograph drivers running red lights. The Public Works Department has two traffic-counting cameras mounted at the intersections of Barnett Road and Stewart Avenue, and Biddle and McAndrews roads, but there are no real-time video cameras. When a surveillance camera went up in Central Point on the Grange Co-op grain elevator in 2002, several residents said it violated civil liberties. Central Point police Lt. Chuck Newell said the camera is not currently up, but the department is considering places to install new cameras. "A lot of police departments are tying into bank surveillance cameras," he said. Brian Sjothun, Medford’s parks and recreation director, said he did not know how much park vandalism costs the city. "We spend quite a bit of time cleaning up graffiti," he said. He said there is no separate repairs fund, it just comes out of the parks budget. Doug Townsend, director of technology services for Medford, said camera costs range from $3,000 to $7,700. He said the cameras are powerful enough to clearly make out a person’s appearance. "If you wanted to identify someone you wouldn’t have any trouble doing it," he said. The screens could be monitored from the police records office, but not from patrol car laptops at this time, he said. He said the only surveillance cameras in the city now are at City Hall doorways. In a telephone interview Friday, Strosser said he just wanted to give city staff the option of developing new directions to deal with park vandalism. "You don’t want Big Brother watching over everything, but it would be nice if people respected the areas built for people to enjoy," he said. "In the meantime, I wish they’d catch the little buggers and we didn’t have to worry about it." Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Vandal -cams? ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s