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City gets Homeland Security money for surveillance cameras Chad D. Lerch The federal government has awarded Grand Haven a $125,623 grant to install video cameras for surveillance and intelligence gathering along the city's waterfront. Lt. Mark Reiss said the grant, which is part of a Homeland Security program, will allow city officials to install 5 miles of high-speed data lines for cameras that would cover key infrastructure from the piers to the U.S. 31 drawbridge. The six cameras would be linked to recording devices at the Central Dispatch Center in downtown Grand Haven. The project's first phase, which would run data lines from the dispatch center to Grand Haven State Park, is being paid for through private donations. One camera could be operational at the state park this summer, officials said. The Beach and Pier Safety Task Force raised money to cover the $104,818 first phase. Meanwhile, the task force's money will pay for alarms for 15 life rings at the south pier and beach. The alarms will alert police dispatchers when life rings are removed from their cradles. Safety advocates say the cameras will help officials see problems and emergencies at the beach area and cut down on response times. They also say the technology will act as a deterrent for smaller crimes like vandalism. Reiss said city officials wanted to take the project to the next level by stretching the data lines to cover more of the city's waterfront. The city's public safety department applied for the $125,623 grant through the Homeland Security Department's Maritime Domain Awareness Program to make the project's second phase a reality.
The second phase -- five cameras from the boardwalk to the U.S. 31 drawbridge -- could be installed this fall or next year, depending on when the Environmental Protection Agency approves the project. The 360-degree cameras will cover the municipal diesel plant on Harbor Drive, the Coast Guard station, the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power's coal generating plant on Harbor Island and the U.S. 31 drawbridge. Reiss said terrorism to the city's critical infrastructure along the waterfront would cripple the region. "That's the only bridge crossing for 30 miles," Reiss said. "If it were targeted under sabotage, it would be disruptive to people's lives around here. We wanted to be proactive in looking for suspicious activity." Mayor Roger Bergman said he's pleased with the grant. "Ours is a busy port with significant international and domestic risk," he said. "Using federal resources to secure our port is ... very good news for the city of Grand Haven." Reiss said the cameras will not be a case of Big Brother invading the privacy of residents. "This won't be the police looking over you," he said. "That's not the intent of it." Officials said the system can handle 16 cameras; right now, six are planned to be used from the beach to the bridge. Each camera costs $6,000. ---------------------------------------------------
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