The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously to hire a Bridgeport-based technology consulting firm to put together an RFP for updating security systems in New Canaan.
The $16,000 contract with D’Agostino & Associates is a step toward security upgrades at municipal buildings, parks and other town-owned properties, officials said.
“Right now, Waveny House, Waveny Pool, this building, everything is standalone,” First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during an interview after the Board’s meeting, held at Town Hall. “We want a system that all connects to the Police Department. But we need a backbone for that in the cloud, because right now each system is standalone. And then we can add parking lots and Waveny.”
Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted 3-0 to approve the contract after discussing security details in executive session.
The RFP itself should be completed by early February, so that the Board of Finance can include a line item in the fiscal year 2021 budget, Moynihan said.
It isn’t clear how much the security upgrade will cost, though it likely will be a multi-year plan, he said.
Putting together the RFP moves the needle on a grassroots push to install security cameras at Waveny as per a police recommendation.
The local mom and attorney behind an online petition this summer that kickstarted the town’s efforts, Hilary Ormond said in an email after the meeting that she was “happy to see the Board of Selectmen taking the concerns of the town citizens seriously” and that she looked forward to learning more details about the plans “to the extent they are made public.”
“Having spoken with [Police] Chief [Leon] Krolikowski about the issue, I’m sure that with the NCPD’s input, what is ultimately put in place will be appropriate and in the best interests of the town and the security of its residents,” Ormond said in response to a request for comment.