Rash of break-ins has port mulling security upgrades, Lewiston Tribune, July 9, 2015

[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Six incidents in three months prompts panel to consider surveillance improvements

By CALLEY HAIR of the Tribune

Commissioners at the Port of Lewiston are looking to upgrade their security equipment following a string of break-ins over the past three months.

“In the last 20 years, we haven’t had the break-ins we’ve had over the last 90 days,” Port Manager David Doeringsfeld said at a port commission meeting Wednesday.

Port facilities have been broken into six times over that period, Doeringsfeld said, and the stolen items include food and copper tubing. While the cost of the stolen goods is low, he said the damage from the break-ins can be expensive and time-consuming to repair. He did not have a dollar amount of the goods stolen Wednesday.

The port is looking to upgrade its surveillance equipment and enhance other preventative measures in response to the burglaries.

“Anything we can lock up and throw a padlock on, we are,” Doeringsfeld said.

Also Wednesday, commissioners advanced a fiber-optic cable project that would enable the Port of Lewiston to install fiber lines above and below ground in Nez Perce County and the city of Lewiston. The lines will run from the Memorial Bridge along 17th and Fifth streets to the industrial area near the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport. They will connect with another section of fiber under construction in North Lewiston.

The commission voted unanimously to award the bid to supply fiber-optic cable materials to Graybar, an electrical supplier based in Spokane. Graybar submitted the lowest bid of $75,730 out of seven the commission received for the project.

Doeringsfeld estimates the project will be finished by the end of 2016, although he said it could stretch on as long as March 2017. Upon its completion, the port will lease access to the fiber-optic lines to telecommunications providers around the region.

In other business Wednesday:

– The commission is considering the sale of a 3-acre lot in its Business and Technology Park on 23rd Avenue to Advanced Health Care, a rehabilitation center based in the Puget Sound area. The value of the lot has yet to be determined, but commissioners will meet again July 17 to discuss the possible terms of the sale.

– The commission is looking into the possibility of live-streaming either the video or audio of future meetings. The goal is to make meetings more accessible to the public, Doeringsfeld said, especially for people with disabilities who have trouble making it to meetings. Commissioner Mary Hasenoehrl said she wants to assess citizen interest before investing in the cost of recording equipment and an online streaming service subscription.

“Is this something that our constituents, the people of Nez Perce County, want or would use?” she said.

– The Lenore Community Center has submitted a request for a $1,500 grant from the port to replace cement flooring at the front of the community center. The commission will discuss this request at its meeting July 17.

 

Hair may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2274.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]