Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
The Bryan Board of Public Affairs met on March 6, 2024 at 5 p.m. Present were Board Chair Karen Ford, Vice Chair Annette Schreiner, members Dick Long, Jim Salsbury, and Bob Eyre, alongside Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade, and City Treasurer John Lehner.
The minutes from their February 20th meeting were approved as presented, as was the agenda. It was then announced that the board has now adopted the same policy as the City of Bryan regarding the length of public comments, with them now limited to five minutes.
Mr. Metz then commented on the barracuda spam filter that was not renewed, sharing that people are still receiving 100s of phishing emails.
He then updated the board on the camera discussion that happened at the Bryan City Council meeting the night before.
A request for free service was then made by Police Chief Ruskey on behalf of Police Captain Mendez, to put up eight additional Flock Safety cameras that use license plate recognition software.
These are most helpful in “hit-skip,” or hit-and-run, accidents and apprehending traveling wanted individuals.
This request was for the two additional service poles that would need to be solar powered, as the other cameras will be powered through existing lights. A movement was made approving the free service poles.
It was then shared that the police department is in need of five new hires, and it was shared that it takes six months to train 10-15 officers, with two academies offering the training in the state.
These two academies have also seen a downturn of potential officers in light of the current political climate, with it being reaffirmed that filling these positions is essential for the wellbeing of the peace, it was also highlighted that officers are in high demand across many municipalities, making the issue state-wide.
In June, the auxiliary officer program was restarted in an effort to mitigate the climbing responsibilities faced by the shrinking department, with this program ensuring that officers that receive training go to the Bryan City Police Department.
The treasurer’s report was accepted as presented, with bills being approved for payment. The board thanked Captain Ruskey for sharing with them how the license plate capturing software works, especially with relation to how this service can help alleviate the burden put on the officers to be actively patrolling the areas wherein these new cameras will be installed.
The article in the Wall Street Journal about Spangler Candy Co. was referenced, with it being shared that the tower can be seen from the Amtrak in Chicago.
It was then shared that there had been a brief utility outage affecting about 8 homes for roughly a half-an-hour earlier that morning, with the neighborhood affected being thanked for their quick response. Four different substations were affected by the outage.
All the departments were again thanked for their help in unpacking the delivered Lincoln Park materials before the board approved a motion to adjourn the meeting, set to meet next March 19, 2024.