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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; City officials anticipate making a decision by the end of the month on a new maintenance contract for the camera surveillance system.</p><p>Two companies are in the running from the five that responded to a reissue of a Request for Proposals from earlier this year, city Administrator Ted Wampole said Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re encouraged by the response this time,&#8221; he said, citing the number and the quality as the reasons.</p><p>One of the two finalists has already been interviewed. &#8220;The other one came in just to look at the network,&#8221; Wampole said, adding the company also will return to make a presentation.</p><p>City Attorney Tim Henry said the companies that responded will not be identified until after the selection is made. The contract is considered a professional service and is not required to be bid, he added.</p><p>At the end of 2015, the city took over the system that had been operated by the nonprofit corporation Hawkeye Security Solutions Inc. since its formation in 2008. More than $3.6 million in state and federal grants were obtained to build the system made up of nearly 300 cameras and a control center at police headquarters. A loss of outside revenue to fund the system and the fact that the city maintained and owned some of the cameras prompted Hawkeye to dissolve and transfer its assets.</p><p>Mayor Tony George was critical of the shape of the system in 2016 when he took office. His administration is not staffing the control room around-the-clock, and police officers have had to request access to the locked room to look at surveillance footage for investigations.</p><p>The city operates the system with money from the general fund budget, Wampole said, and that includes a $2,750 monthly maintenance fee with Platinum Networks. The $25,000 annual contract with Platinum expired at the end of 2016, and it was continued at a monthly rate.</p><p>The quick pace at which the technology changes and the cost of the system are areas that concern the city, Wampole noted. The city is looking at the possibility of expanding coverage by connecting private surveillance cameras to the network. It&#8217;s also looking into eliminating redundancies in areas where there are private and system cameras, Wampole said.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what we have to figure out,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p><ins>For other local news stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/local" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Decision expected on contract for the Wilkes-Barre camera surveillance system