By Jeannie Fanning
March 7, 2011

Mayors throughout the country are confronted with the daily task of protecting the safety of their citizens. In this light, Saco (ME) implemented a citywide surveillance plan to update security in several city buildings to ensure the safety of its citizens, employees, and visitors.

For this project, Saco worked with Graybar, a distributor of high quality electrical, communications, networking and security products and a supplier through the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance. The United States Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the National Institute of Government Purchasing, and various state and local agencies sponsor the U.S. Communities program. Through U.S. Communities, cities and other agencies have access to competitively bid contracts with great pricing through the power of cooperative purchasing.

Representatives from Graybar met with the Saco team several times over the following months to design a solution for the city’s video surveillance network that would be ready for future expansion. Graybar’s plan provided the city with the growth opportunity to take advantage of new technologies as they become available, while keeping the solution within today’s budget.

The police department needed a system to monitor the booking area, and the criminal investigation division needed to upgrade from their black and white system in interview rooms so testimonies could be used as evidence in the courtroom. Other city buildings, such as the train station and wastewater plant, also needed surveillance plans.

With the design completed, David Lawler, Director of Information Technology for Saco, went to work installing the new infrastructure in a phased approach.

The waste water treatment facility was the first to implement and benefit from the new security solution, including four analog cameras with IR capability and Toshiba’s XVR series recorder to monitor the growing treatment plant.

A new train station constructed in 2008 received a much-needed upgrade to its security system. The train station received a Toshiba IP recorder and seven Toshiba POE IP cameras that provided video capturing and surveillance coverage.

After the train station, the team began the overdue security renovation at the police station. Following several walkthroughs, a plan was developed. The city purchased Toshiba’s IPS30-30-3 Network Video Recorder to centralize recording for the police department and city hall, a separate DVR for the police interview rooms and 23 cameras with grant money.

"The cameras covered the police station lobby, booking area, perimeter of the building, and the interview rooms," Graybar Security Marketing Manager Lawrence Mok said. "With the DVR, the department could record and synch audio taken from interrogation rooms and capture watermarked digital recordings to be used in court hearings."

As more city facilities provide security surveillance, Saco and Graybar are committed and ready to provide the citizens and guests with the best possible way of life. The city is very pleased with Graybar for providing a solution that meets its needs.

If you would like to learn about how the contracts supplied under the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance can help your city, contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland with USCM by phone at 301-460-5251 or send e-mail to kweyland@usmayors.org, or contact Jeff Bean with the Conference of Mayors by phone at 202-446-8140 or send e-mail to jbean@usmayors.org.

Saco would like to thank U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, as well as U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, for securing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for Maine and especially the city.