Greater Patchogue coverage is funded in part by New Village at Patchogue, open-concept rental residences with sleek contemporary design. Click here for a tour.
Bellport Village is considering upgrading its existing security cameras and adding several more across the village to combat vandalism and theft.
Bellport Mayor Ray Fell said vandals target the marina at Osborne Park at some point almost every year.
That, and five golf karts went missing from the Bellport Country Club last year, he added.
“If there’s a problem, you go to the tape,” Fell explained at a Village Board meeting Monday evening. “You get a picture of the person or car, or whatever caused the problem, and you’re able to help the police with some kind of apprehension of these people.”
He said the existing cameras in the village — located at the firehouse, near Porters on the Lane, the Chase bank branch, and Station Road at Main Street — either aren’t working properly or capturing images that are too grainy to be of use to investigators.
The village received an estimate of $80,000 for 14 cameras, that would include one at the golf course, another at the gazebo in the village green, another at the community center and another at Village Hall, with four more in the business district and six at the village marina.
The package also includes the installation of a fob entry system at some village buildings.
The key cards would also track employees, who currently use a punch card mechanism, Fell explained.
“This would bring Bellport Village up to the 21st century,” he said of the cards.
Responding to a request from a resident Monday evening for signage informing people of the cameras, Fell said the village would do so if it’s required by law.
The village’s attorney, David Moran, insisted signage is not a legal requirement.
“You have no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place,” Moran said, with Fell adding that no one watches the videos in real-time. The tapes only get reviewed in the event of a possible criminal incident, Fell said.
The village received the initial quote from A+ Technology Solutions, Inc., of Bay Shore at the request of Fell so the board could get a better idea on how much the upgrades could cost.
A+ Technology Solutions had recently overseen a security upgrade for Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Fell said.
That $80,000 — or whatever the final cost is — would be paid for using village reserves, with additional costs coming for some outdoor internet services.
The board will probably seek estimates from two more security companies.
“We could maybe do some of this, or all of it,” Fell said.
Photo: The camera that’s currently mounted on the utility pole at the northwest corner of Station Road and Main Street in Bellport VIllage. (Michael White)
