Trenton’s City Commission was supposed to act on the possibility of using speed-detection cameras Monday night.
Instead, it never even got to a vote.
A motion to allow Blue Line Solutions, LLC to put up speed-detection cameras in the school zones in Trenton never received a second and died due to lack of support.
The proposal had been tabled at Trenton’s Nov. 13 meeting.
The main hold up was not whether the Commission wanted to construct the cameras. The main concern was whether requests for qualifications were necessary to compare companies.
City Attorney David Lang expressed “indigestion” over signing a contract with Blue Line Solutions without allowing other companies to show the City their qualifications.
Lang said it could leave Trenton vulnerable to lawsuits by the other companies.
Chief of Public Safety Matthew Rexroat said other smaller municipalities — specifically High Springs, Mayo, Lawtey and Eustis — signed contracts with companies to provide similar services without sending out requests for bids or qualifications.
However, Hillsborough County did send out RFQs before signing a contract. Rexroat said that it was part of Hillsborough’s policy to send out RFQs for something that can generate as much revenue as these speed-detection cameras.
Rexroat said the smaller municipalities did not send out RFQs because they were not sure what an RFQ or request for bids would ask for.
He said all of these companies do basically the same thing, so it would be difficult to decide which company is better based on an RFQ.
Lang said RFQs have nothing to do with money. They give the city a way to compare the companies based on criteria such as the services they offer and years of experience.
Mark Hutchison, the founder of Blue Line Solutions, said that his company has only one RFQ or RFB in its 13 years.
Rexroat said 14 citations for speeding in school zones had been written since Trenton’s last meeting
Of those 14 citations, none were for less than 12 miles per hour over the speed limit, Rexroat said.
Rexroat added that the average fine for those citations was $357 and carried penalties of three to four points.
Hutchison said the cameras lead to a 94-percent decrease in speeding on average in the cities that currently use them.
Hutchison said the company tries to inform the public of the cameras’ use through the schools, by email and by in-person presentations.
There is also a 30-day warning period in which drivers are sent warnings if they commit an infraction.
Hutchison said this alone drops the infractions down by around 80 percent.
The company will also put up signs indicating speeds are checked by cameras and showing drivers’ current speeds as they enter the school zone. Along with the flashing lights on the school zone signs, this will give drivers three warnings before they enter a school zone.
If any of the flashing lights are defective, Hutchison said his company will replace them for no charge.
“We strive for zero,” Hutchison said. “Zero infractions, zero injuries and zero fatalities.”
Commissioner Cloud Haley said he sees nothing but positives from the cameras. He said Trenton does not have the stuff to prevent speeding in school zones. Adding these cameras would help.
Haley moved to allow Blue Line Solutions to put up the cameras, but there was never a second and the motion died due to lack of support.
Commissioner Randy Rutter said he was OK with the cameras but was hesitant to move forward without giving other companies a chance.
Mayor Robbi Coarsey Avery echoed Rutter’s statement.
Lang said he would talk to other city and county attorneys from municipalities that are moving forward with the cameras about why they did or did not send out RFQs and have a report at the Commission’s first meeting in January (the second December meeting was canceled as it would have fallen on Christmas.)
It is set to be an action item again at that meeting.