“The Chesterburgh Town Council approved a $425,000 contract with Sensatek Solutions LLC on April 12, 2024, for the purchase and installation of new surveillance cameras within the municipal park system.”

On April 12, the Chesterburgh Town Council entered into a contract with Sensatek Solutions LLC, a digital surveillance technology provider based out of Westford. The contract, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, details the town’s plan to expand its existing network of monitoring cameras in all five municipally managed parks. The investment, totaling $425,000, includes hardware acquisition, installation, and an initial three-year maintenance agreement.

According to the bid documents, approved in a 4-1 vote, the contract covers the installation of 27 high-definition cameras featuring night vision and motion detection capabilities. The system’s scope includes community fixtures such as basketball courts, playgrounds, and parking lots at Chesterburgh Commons, Lincoln Park, Greenridge, Elmwood, and Riverside Park. Sensatek’s proposal highlighted the integration of AI-powered analytics designed to detect unusual activity, although specific details regarding the software’s parameters were redacted from the published contract.

The town’s memorandum accompanying the contract identifies the primary goal as enhancing public safety and deterring illegal activity within park boundaries. Council President Marsha Ellery emphasized in the meeting minutes that the upgrade addresses long-standing concerns raised in town forums about vandalism, drug use, and unauthorized gatherings after dark. A supplementary note in the document specifies that this installation is part of a broader security strategy that will complement existing patrol efforts.

Reviewing municipal purchase records from the past five years reveals a shift in technology spending from infrastructure repairs to digital security systems, reflecting a broader trend in municipal governance. The 2024 budget allocated $600,000 towards community enhancement, $450,000 of which is earmarked for surveillance and security upgrades in public spaces, parks being the largest beneficiary of these funds.

Notably, the Sensatek contract stipulates that the town retains ownership of all data collected, and that the company’s role is limited to system maintenance and occasional software updates. The provision also requires Sensatek to comply with all relevant state and federal privacy laws. However, the contract includes a clause stating that video data “may be shared with law enforcement agencies upon request,” but without detailing any oversight mechanism or limits on data retention periods.

Chesterburgh’s existing surveillance infrastructure, put in place over the past decade, largely relies on older camera models lacking analytics capabilities. According to a technical report appended to the FOIA release, the new cameras are expected to increase coverage by approximately 40% across park areas and improve image resolution to 4K standards, a significant leap from the current 720p cameras.

Freedom of Information documents also reveal internal communications between town administrators expressing hesitation over long-term privacy implications. An April 5 email chain between Town Manager Henry Grayson and the Chief of Police, Commissioner Derek Hull, was among the documents released. In it, Grayson noted concerns about “community pushback” if surveillance was perceived as intrusive, while Hull advocated for maximizing camera deployment citing “evidence-supported reductions in property crime” elsewhere.

Despite the scale of the project, there was no public hearing dedicated solely to the surveillance initiative. The topic was included as part of a consent agenda during a regular Town Council session, limiting the opportunity for public commentary. Minutes show one resident, identified as Amanda Castillo,