County of Wetaskiwin council decided it wants to examine the security situation at their Winfield Public Works shop before making any more decisions on the issue.
The matter was debated at the Apr. 9 regular council meeting. The issue was presented to council by CAO Rod Hawken.
“At the March 26, 2019 Council General meeting Council was presented with information on the Building Security at the Winfield Public Works Shop,” stated Hawken in his report.
“At that time, Council resolved to approve the installation of a security system and cameras at the Winfield Public Works Shop and that further information be gathered on the keyless entry system and that it be brought back to the April 9th, 2019 Council General meeting.
“Council was concerned on the cost of the keyless entry system. Administration has reviewed the cost and has providing the following alternative. By having less pin pads it reduces the required number of controls. The original quote had seven pin pads, which required two controls; by reducing the number of pin pads to four and installing deadbolts in the remainder three doors this will reduce the cost by almost half.
“By only having four pin pads reduces the amount of controls needed, lowering the cost significantly. The original quote for the keyless entry system was $18,989 plus GST and with the changes noted above the new quote is $9,955 plus GST.
“By upgrading the Winfield Public Works Shop with a keyless entry system, the County is lowering the amount of keys that are circulating and eliminates the chance of keys being stolen. With a keyless entry system, when an employee no longer works for the County, the keyless entry system is updated to not include that entry code, which is much easier than trying to retrieve keys and not knowing if the keys have been duplicated.
“By continuing with Red Deer Lock and Safe the County of Wetaskiwin will be tying into an existing system and therefore does not require for additional request for proposals (RFP) from other companies. It would not be wise for the County to have two different security systems,” added Hawken.
A motion was made to approve the recommended action.
However, councilor Josh Bishop balked at even the $9,000 quote. He said the quote was too expensive and added the parts for the project should be no more than $2,500. “Besides, I don’t think we need it,” said Bishop.
He went on to say that if council does approve this work, it should be tendered and not automatically given to Red Deer Lock and Safe.
The motion to approve staff’s recommendation was defeated in a 2 to 5 vote.
Another motion to investigate how the Winfield Public Works shop’s security system was installed in the first place was passed.
Stu.salkeld@pipestoneflyer.ca