Council Approves $4 Million Supply Purchase & License Plate Readers For DBIA

DeLand, FL - Volusia County leaders approve the use of $4 million for protective, medical and sanitation supplies and a $130,000+ purchase of license plate readers for Daytona Beach International Airport. $4 Million In Supplies Part of Tuesday’s (August 4th) Volusia County Council meeting dealt with the issue of supply chain shortages and delays for certain protective equipment and sanitation materials, which led the county to approve the use of $4 million in federal relief funds (CARES) to purchase a bulk of supplies. Gary Davidson, spokesperson for Volusia County, wrote in a release that the initial supply and equipment order will include supplies such as gloves, gowns, head and shoe coverings and face masks to respirators, thermometers, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer. The county plans to one large order of supplies first. After that, county departments will be able to place follow-up orders on an as-needed basis. Airport License Plate Readers County council members also approved the purchase of three license plate recognition (LPR) camera systems that will alert authorities of any stolen or wanted vehicles that drive into Daytona Beach International Airport. The price tag for their implementation is $130,553, which includes the purchase of the equipment and a service contract from NDI Recognition Systems of Winter Springs, who is providing the equipment. “These additional LPR sites will improve public safety and law enforcement efficiencies by integrating with the existing countywide system to expand coverage of license plate scans for stolen or wanted vehicles,” states a memo accompanying Tuesday’s County Council agenda. “These systems are fully integrated and provide an increased radius for real-time data sharing.” These readers will also tie into the same systems used by local agencies – the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, Daytona Beach Police Department, Port Orange Police Department and Orange City Police Department – and other agencies from around the state. A release from the county states that the readers will be placed at "tactical vantage points" around the airport, where they will read the plates of passing vehicles to see if they’re flagged by law enforcement. Using an instantaneous search of various law enforcement databases, the new security measure will generate real-time alerts if a tag matches a wanted vehicle.