Winnfield’s City Council had quite a discussion including public comments Tuesday night before approving by a 2-1 vote Meta Traffic’s agreement for photo-driven traffic control system.
Late in the discussion Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter interjected that he was perplexed that the council was voting on this that evening when they’d previously introduced the ordinance and a month later came back and approved that ordinance on accepting the Meta Solutions package.
Mayor Gerald Hamms said there has language changes in the ordinance and that had to come back for explanation to the council. A reply came that this was just some terminology changes, not significant changes in the agreement.
Regional sales manager Jeremy Fuqua explained that he’s been working with the city and city police on this program for six months and it’s already met with the full approval of the city attorney, responding to questions of legality of the program.
After the matter had been introduced by Chiquita Caldwell at the Tuesday session, Matt Miller stated that he’s had a lot of feedback “and the people of Winnfield do not want this” and said based on that, he could not vote for approval.
Shonna Moss observed that “Winnfield has had many chances to move forward but because a few people have complained, we continue to move backward.” She said the city has only a few police officers and suggested that if an automated system could pull some off of monitoring traffic, they could focus on the problem of crime instead.
Asked when this would start if approved, Fuqua replied the equipment and signage would first have to come in. He went on to explain the track record of improved traffic safety that’s been recorded since Meta systems have been put in place. He added that the city could essentially withdraw from the system by not using the equipment. “For the safety factor, why wouldn’t you give it a shot?”
Asked where the cameras might be located, Lt. Charles Curry responded that there are various locations where speeding and accidents are an issue. “Everybody knows that the overhead bridge is 35 mph yet we have people going over it at 60. Most of our traffic is on the five-lane. And out by Walmart.”
Carpenter also emphasized the safety factor. “We’re not looking for drivers who are going 1 mph over the limit. It’s been set at 10 mph.” And unlike a standard traffic ticket that could affect the driver’s insurance costs, the camera shots of the license plate (and related video) does not. “Everything goes through the Winnfield Police Department.”
The mayor brought discussion to a close and called for a vote. Miller voted against while Caldwell and Teresa Phillips voted for the measure. Ada Hall and Erikia Breda were absent.
Curry had previously explained that the public will be informed of the workings of this automated system a part of the installment process. Watch the Journal, in part, for details.
