By admin 
Blythewood has been plagued for several years by the elusive solution to its safety concerns, suspending large town events indefinitely for fear of chaos and cancelling several public celebrations in 2025.
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A new contract aims to shore up security after a revelation that some of the town’s 125 security cameras were pointed at the ground or not operational, according to an April report by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Blythewood Town Council voted to increase spending on security camera maintenance Monday night, drawing out the news at town council that a safety task force found cameras that were facing trees, the ground or simply didn’t work at all.
The information shocked council when it was presented in a closed executive session April 28, said Councilwoman Tricia Hovis, and it is unclear for how long the cameras were ineffectual for.
“Has staff had an opportunity to review the findings from the safety task force that indicated that there are cameras on this property that are aimed in directions that pick up nothing, that there are cameras that are not functioning, cameras that should be places where cameras are not?” Hovis said, addressing other council members on Monday.
She said the new contract was related to Town Manager Doug Polen’s effort to address the issues revealed by the threat assessment, which occurred before he assumed his role in June.
Blythewood previously had no contracted regular maintenance on the town’s security cameras, though it has previously done business with local security vendor National Alert Security Systems, who will take over the upgraded maintenance contract.
The contract was approved over the objections of Hovis and Councilman Donald Brock, entering the town into a $725 per month plan which includes quarterly maintenance visits.
According to a staff report, Blythewood has invested “well in excess” of $100,000 on its security system over the last 10 years, keeping pace with the samll town’s growth. Blythewood is located northeast of Columbia and has a population of more than 7,000 residents – a sharp jump from just under 5,000 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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“I think it just makes good sense to protect that work,” Polen said of the investment.
A Scout Motors plant that shattered records for economic investment in the state is expected to add 4,000 jobs to the Blythewood area when it begins operations at the end of the year, bringing an influx of new residents and a potential increase in security needs.
Hovis questioned whether hiring the same vendor was the right move, given the issues the safety task force found with the cameras.
“To me, maintenance includes properly checking to ensure that cameras are providing the service that they’re both that they’re supposed to provide,” Hovis said. “Which that report revealed is not the case.”
Ron Perryman, sales director at National Alert, said that prior to the approval of the contract, the responsibility to report needed repairs was left to the town.
The decision to increase camera maintenance funding is one of the first major steps based on the Richland County Sheriff Department’s findings and follows on the heels of promises by Mayor Sloan Griffin to fully fund security.
Hovis said her goal remains to contract camera maintenance to a different vendor, and that she would be considering Flock cameras – the license plate reading technology that has stirred up privacy concerns in nearby Irmo – as an alternative to the town’s current camera system.
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