Town Manager Tim Owens said the town is in the process of adding nine cameras at various locations, including two at Jack Parker Boulevard; one with four different angles at the intersection of Waynick Boulevard and Lumina Avenue; three at Town Hall; an additional point-zoom-tilt camera at Town Hall directed at the drawbridge; and two more on Raleigh Street.
The latter two cameras were added to the original slate previously approved by the town council. All told, the new cameras will cost the town $61,000, with an additional $5,700 planned for annual maintenance and upkeep.
Owens said the new cameras are intended to overlook areas that see heavy resident and visitor traffic, including the bars that line the town's small central business district.
"We wanted to focus in on different areas that need protection," he said. "If we have crimes, these can help us better protect citizens and solve those crimes."
The town first added cameras about a decade back, with some attached to buildings and wells, Owens said. The existing ones were replaced with better technology around three years ago, he added.
The camera can be accessed at any time by the Wrightsville Beach Police and select members of the town administration.
Owens said he would like to see the new cameras installed and operational by summer.
©2017 the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.), Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
