Heritage Manor House
security system approved

(2/1) At its January meeting, the Walkersville Town Council passed, on a 3-2 motion, to install a security and smoke alarm system in the Heritage Manor House. The House is not currently protected by any kind of system.

Town Manager Sean Williams told the Town Council that he had approached TelePlus for an estimate after they installed security and fire monitoring equipment in the Zimmerman Building and the Water Plant. The estimate to install the monitoring system came in at a one-time charge of $7,690 plus a $30 monthly charge for monitoring. The charge represents less then 10% of the $83,578 that was approved to be spent on an overhaul of the town’s security/camera systems.

"To me, it didn’t seem like a whole lot more money to potentially protect a building that obviously is going to be getting more use," Williams said.

This system will monitor for fires as well as provide sensors and cameras to monitor who is in and around the building. As the Town already uses TelePlus for security in other buildings, the Heritage Manor House system can easily be added to the existing contract, William said.

According to Williams, the cost of installation may be higher than typical security systems because the Manor House is built with stone. Because of this, TelePlus may need to use additional repeaters, which could raise the price above that of a typical installation in buildings made of wood.

Before approving the expansion of the contract, the Council debated seeking additional quotes from other providers but eventually opted it was better to go with Teleplus to prevent needless confusion that would come along if each building owned by the town had different systems to monitor security and fire protection and different companies to monitor them.

Williams said that the staff had a great working relationship with TelePlus and are happy with the customer service they provide, not to mention their willingness to fix problems quickly. For example, one security camera wasn’t working well previously and TelePlus replaced it free of charge within days.

Yes, we can bring in another contractor, and yes, it might be a little cheaper, but typically, the "juice isn’t worth the squeeze," said Commissioner Mike McNiesh. The staff would have to learn how to use a second system that could bring needless complications and confusion. It would be best to stay with the contractor that knows who you are and that you have a good working relationship with, he added.