YOUNGSTOWN – The city’s board of control signed a two-year, $356,900 contract with Flock Safety to get 56 license plate recognition cameras for the Youngstown Police Department.

The board voted to sign the contract Thursday, three days after city council voted 5-1 in favor of using $200,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to pay for the deal’s first year.

The police department will use the 56 cameras from Flock, based in Atlanta, while a separate deal with the company is expected for three cameras to be used by the city health department’s litter control division to find those who illegally dump.

The police contract calls for the city to pay $188,900 to Flock for the first year. There is a $3,000 licensing fee per camera – $168,000 in total for the 56 – as well as $20,900 for installation.

The cost in the second year is $168,000 for the annual licensing fee with that money coming from the police budget.

The small amount left from the $200,000 ARP allocation will either go toward the licensing fee for the three litter control cameras or toward the 2025 fee for the police department’s cameras.

The cameras are expected in about 60 days and then need to be installed, said Lt. Mohammad Awad, chief of detectives. He expects them to be online around November.

Awad said he’s been seeking to get the Flock cameras in Youngstown for two years and they will help the department solve crimes.

The cameras will be set up all over the city, he said.

The high-speed, mounted cameras will take photos of every car that passes and if there is a call or investigation into a vehicle, the equipment will be greatly beneficial, Awad said. In addition to reading license plates, the system can track vehicles — even those without license plates — and can help police find those involved in crimes.

The cameras also set off an alarm if a license plate has been entered in connection with a wanted person, a stolen vehicle, an abduction or a lost senior. The alarm goes to the host agency and the vehicle can be tracked.

Flock has cameras in about 400 entities in Ohio, Awad said. That includes cities, townships and villages as well as hospitals, school districts, universities, homeowners associations and stores, he said.

The information among those using Flock equipment can be shared, Awad said.

The information obtained from the cameras are deleted on a rolling 30-day basis, he said.

At Monday’s meeting, council voted 5-1 to use ARP funds from the three council members for the cameras.

Councilman Pat Kelly, D-5th Ward, gave the remaining $160,000 from his ward’s $2 million ARP allocation toward the purchase of the cameras.

Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th Ward, gave $25,000 and Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, gave $15,000.

In April 2022, council voted to give $2 million in ARP funding to each of its seven council members for projects in their wards.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, was the lone no vote against the ordinances. A retired Youngstown police detective sergeant, Davis said it was “a privacy issue. Government will have access to it when they want to.”

DEMOLITION BILL

Also Thursday, the board of control agreed to pay $198,900 to ProQuality Demolition of Youngstown for the July 6 emergency demolition of the Torch Club Bar and Grille on Salt Springs Road.

A fire in a garage area at the bar caused extensive damage with fire Chief Barry Finley giving an emergency demolition order hours after the blaze for safety reasons.

The bar was attached to Isabella’s Market, which is still standing. The bar was built in 1936 and was formerly known as Club Merry-Go-Round, hosting numerous national musical acts.

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