BLOSSOM — After months of debate, Blossom City Council has established a law enforcement position and received an update on the installation of high-tech surveillance cameras at its meeting last week.
“I would like to ask the city council to look into this,” city secretary Stacey Prestridge said before the vote. “I think this is the best solution for the code enforcement problem we have.”
Prestridge later said he could not fill all of his current roles.
“My job is getting harder every year,” she said. “More and more, I put out fires all day long, and I just don’t have the ability to do it the way I’ve always done. It didn’t work in the first place.”
City attorney David Hamilton echoed Prestridge’s sentiments.
“One of the things I understood from the city council when you hired me was that they wanted the code enforced,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been here and he’s only been a year, but I’m frustrated with what’s going on here. I’m the guy that’s supposed to do it.”
Among everyone in the room, Hamilton said, city attorneys will file cases, handle complaints, and review data.
After discussion in the council and agreement within the quorum, the members of the council voted to create part-time positions.
The council ordered a May 6 general election, securing four seats and reauthorizing a 1/4% sales tax for road maintenance.
City councilors also approved, among other bill payments, the purchase of three spare sewer pumps for $16,689 from locally owned City Electric Motor Services.
Before the action on the agenda item, Lamar County Sheriff Scott Kath released an update on the installation of herd security cameras throughout the city.
“I know it went on for a long time,” he told the council. It will take a lot of time to solve the above problem.”
Chief of Staff Tommy Moore, who said Cass was responsible for the camera, explained the process required by state officials and said the process was delayed because other agencies had purchased the camera. rice field.
“These Flock cameras caught on like wildfire, so this process took quite a while,” he said. “So many people are getting them that slowed the process down somewhat.”
Moore told the council he receives daily emails from law enforcement agencies across the United States sharing camera data with law enforcement officers in Lamar County.
“They are great tools,” says Cass. “The number of stolen vehicles passing through our county is unbelievable.”
Kath said the cameras have also helped catch wanted sex offenders and other people of interest.
After an inquiry from Mayor Jeff Stover, Cass said two cameras will be installed on Front Street and FM 196.
The council has submitted several items until next month, including price estimates for maintenance trucks and the appointment of election judges.
https://theparisnews.com/news/blossom-creates-code-enforcement-position/article_beea0516-b398-11ed-902a-5b63558e2740.html Blossom establishes position in Code Enforcement | News
