LEXINGTON — A presentation regarding a proposal for additional physical security to the Dawson County Courthouse was presented to the commissioners during their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15.
Justin Miller represented Verkada, a San Mateo, Calif. based company that develops cloud-based building security and operating systems.
Verkada combines security equipment such as video cameras, access control systems and environmental sensors, with cloud-based machine vision and artificial intelligence.
The company was founded in 2016. In 2021, it was the target of a data breach that accessed security camera footage and private data, according to Bloomberg News.
Miller said their physical security systems include cameras with a wide range of features. One of them includes for example the ability to search for a specific shirt color in recorded footage.
Analytics are also offered to help when sorting through the hours of video data.
Miller said a floor plan of a building can be uploaded and it can be shared with law enforcement in the case of a critical incident.
Law enforcement can also gain access to the camera system to get a view of the situation before entering the building in question.
Verkada also offers access control and detailed logs of visitors and employees are kept, to know who is in the building.
No action was taken after the presentation.
Members of the Dawson County Ag Society, Barb Rohde and Scott Russman appeared and presented an agency update. It was noted that repairs and remodels were to the county fairgrounds. New cameras were also added for increased security.
Rohde, Fairgrounds Manager, said their buildings are booked for events through November, with others already booked for the upcoming spring.
Chairman Rod Reynolds presented the interlocal agreement and by-laws for the Lexington Area Solid Waste Agency.
Reynolds said in the past the agency had been represented by around 40 individuals, but getting enough people for a quorum has been difficult recently.
The by-law change reflected only requiring active members to achieve a quorum. Reynolds said there are around 14 members who actively attend meetings. The updated by-laws and interlocal agreement were approved.
Next to appear was Road Superintendent Mark Christiansen with a bid for two truck bodies. Christiansen said the first bid they received came in considerably higher than expected and was asked to continue solicitation.
The bid from LCL Truck Equipment for two truck bodies in the amount of $222,300.00 was approved.
Sheriff Mark Montgomery presented the monthly crime report, while Lt. Tucker Case presented the distress warrant report.
The commissioners voted to approve Katie Christiansen being hired as receptionist to the Wellness Alliance Program.
Reynolds said the remittance of inventories was held, with each commissioner visiting a different office.
Treasurer Kaitlyn Woltemath presented the Semi-Annual Report and Clerk Karla Zlatkovsky presented the 2023-2024 budget.
The report was accepted, while the budget will be voted on in September.
During the board of equalization meeting, the commissioners held two executive sessions to discuss Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) settlements with Mahadey Hospitality LLC and Jeffersen Square LLC.
After the sessions, the commissioners voted for Deputy County Attorney Katherine Kühn to negotiate the TERC settlement with Mahadey Hospitality and to approve Assessor Nic VanCura’s recommendation to approve Jefferson Square’s requested value.
