County to upgrade jail camera system

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Earlier in the month Head of Maintenance Josh York told the Piscataquis County commissioners that as of October the jail camera system will not be able to take any more updates as the Windows operating program is out of date. The commissioners opted to upgrade to a newer system during a meeting on Tuesday morning.

York said the county could either upgrade for around $21,600 or go with a new camera system for close to $25,500 with the current company. He said with the first option there is a $226 licensing fee per each of the 32 jail cameras and then a $40 annual renewal. Under the second option there is a $165 initial licensing fee and the upgrades would be covered annually moving forward.

“It is a little bit better system,” York said. “We will make up that difference in a few years because we won’t have to pay that annual fee.”

County Manager Mike Wiliams said money for the new camera system would come from a capital account, which contains about $200,000.

“Over the last few years we have been investing in that capital knowing things are getting old,” Sheriff Bob Young said.

In other business, the commissioners granted a request from the Moosehead Outdoor Alliance for $10,000 to go toward a mountain bike trail project in both Greenville and the Unorganized Territory. About $13,000 had been set aside for this purpose in the UT budget.

Through a partnership between the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and the nonprofit Moosehead Outdoor Alliance, mountain bikers have been able to traverse about a dozen miles of free-to-ride trails in the first of three planned zones in and around Greenville. More mileage is planned with a portion of the zone 2 trails now open to bikes and construction on additional mileage there underway.