Panic buttons among county’s tech upgrades
Staff writer
Marion Senior Center and the county’s department on aging will get two panic buttons, a new connection from courthouse Internet service, and access to courthouse servers when a new security system is installed.
If a panic button is activated, security cameras mounted outside the courthouse will pan the building, a block to the south.
County commissioners last week approved a proposal from 4PC Security Technologies to link the department to courthouse security for $6,506.04.
Money to install a security system was already budgeted, though earlier bids were not accepted, commission chairman David Mueller said.
“The bids were way too high,” Mueller said.
The system is an extension of one installed a few years ago at the courthouse.
Department director Lu Turk asked commissioners have the system installed, partly because she could not see the rest of the building from her office.
“We’ll save having to pay $135 a month for Internet service,” commissioner Dave Crofoot said.
Crofoot said a panic button already installed at the senior center hadn’t worked for years.
“Any time you’re talking about technology, you’re talking about money,” commissioner Kent Becker said. “Even if you think it’s not a wise use of money, you have to think about the world we live in today. Anytime somebody is working by themselves, you’ve just got to protect them.”
Asked how often he expected the department would need button, commissioner Jonah Gehring said he’d rather make an elderly population feel secure.