Cuyahoga Falls City Council holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Council committee meetings are held on the first and third Mondays in order to allow councilmembers to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on at regular meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time set aside as part of committee meetings.
Finance Committee:
B-7: An ordinance authorizing the mayor, as director of public safety, to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Flock Group, Inc. for the purchase of Flock Cameras for use by the city’s safety forces. The system would consist of 25 fixed location cameras and one portable one. Chief Davis described the technology as one that can be used not only to solve crimes but deter crime as well. Once installed, the cameras will monitor a zone and constantly retrieve data consisting of license plate number, vehicle color, and other features such as stickers, etc. This information is held on a secure cloud server and can be shared with other police agencies utilizing the same system. Captain Norfolk shared a recent example of a dementia patient reported missing with her car being traced from Cuyahoga Falls and later located safe by North Royalton using this system. Theory of operation is that should there be a legitimate investigative need to locate a vehicle, the information is entered into the system and if detected will alert officers, not only in our city but any city using this system. Every member of council had questions ranging from who has access to the database (only law enforcement) to whether the cameras have battery backup (yes, several days). Norfolk also said with the city of Akron already having the system, they can help serve our southern border. The system will cost the city $140k for a two-year contract and Flock Group will provide all equipment and support. After questions were answered to the committee’s satisfaction, they voted to bring this out for a vote next Monday, February 27. For more information on Flock Group Inc. and their tools visit their website.
B-8: An ordinance authorizing the parks and recreation board to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Dan Guardo Contracting, Inc., for the Water Works Family Aquatic Center Pool Surface Refinish Project. Park Director Sara Kline made this presentation to the finance committee, explaining this is an ongoing project to resurface the inside of the main pool at Waterworks. The new coating applied under this program not only seals the pool but makes the surface less slippery, therefore safer. This portion will cover 10k square feet of the pool and will leave just 1/3 of the pool remaining for a cost of $193k. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote next Monday.
B-9: An ordinance authorizing the parks and recreation Board to enter into a contract, without competitive bidding, with Trackman, Inc. for the purchase of a golf simulator. The simulator will reside in the academy building at Brookledge Golf Course. and should be installed by April at a cost of $60k, with the city paying yearly fee. Some of the benefits Trackman will offer patrons of the course will be club fitting, indoor/year round golf, and personalized lessons. Users will also be able to book tee times on the simulator using the same software they currently use to book tee times on the actual course. Projected fee estimates, according to Kline, so far are as follows: $200- club fitting, $50/per hour for a four-person round on the simulator, $30/hour for a one-person round. There will also be a level for parents with children to enjoy. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote next Monday February, 27. For more information on the Trackman golf simulator visit https://www.trackman.com/golf/simulator.
