Council approves cloud‑based access-control upgrade amid cost questions
December 18, 2025 | New Franklin, Summit County, Ohio
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New Franklin City Council voted to authorize a contract with Wadsworth Solutions to consolidate the city’s three separate access control systems into one cloud‑managed platform, a move proponents said is needed because older systems are at risk of failing.
Council members and staff described the current police‑department control computer as running Windows 7 and nearing end of life, which would leave the city unable to add or remove credentials or view access logs if it failed. Steven, the staff liaison who met with the vendor, told council that consolidating readers and credential management would let administrators audit who used which door and instantly revoke access when employees leave.
During discussion councilors questioned price and timing. The transcript records several line items mentioned by staff and the vendor: a quoted building‑upgrade package around $52,994, a gate controller cost of $7,184.32 to tie the service‑department gate into the system, and a subscription figure discussed as $15,141.18 tied to a five‑year term; staff also referenced a total project discussion near $75,000 that included labor. Council members debated whether to wait, shorten the scope, or accept a longer subscription term to lower yearly costs.
Vendor representatives explained that the cloud solution stores credentials locally on each reader so doors continue to operate during an internet outage and then sync logs back to the cloud once connectivity returns; only cloud‑based remote actions (for example, adding users remotely or remote unlocks) would be unavailable during an outage.
After discussion the council moved, recorded roll call and adopted Resolution 25R71. Roll‑call results were recorded in the transcript with a majority in favor and at least one dissenting vote reported during the roll call.
Next steps: staff will finalize the agreement and schedule implementation work with vendor and department heads; funding was discussed as part of the current capital/program budget but no additional appropriation detail was recorded on the council floor.
Council members and staff described the current police‑department control computer as running Windows 7 and nearing end of life, which would leave the city unable to add or remove credentials or view access logs if it failed. Steven, the staff liaison who met with the vendor, told council that consolidating readers and credential management would let administrators audit who used which door and instantly revoke access when employees leave.
During discussion councilors questioned price and timing. The transcript records several line items mentioned by staff and the vendor: a quoted building‑upgrade package around $52,994, a gate controller cost of $7,184.32 to tie the service‑department gate into the system, and a subscription figure discussed as $15,141.18 tied to a five‑year term; staff also referenced a total project discussion near $75,000 that included labor. Council members debated whether to wait, shorten the scope, or accept a longer subscription term to lower yearly costs.
Vendor representatives explained that the cloud solution stores credentials locally on each reader so doors continue to operate during an internet outage and then sync logs back to the cloud once connectivity returns; only cloud‑based remote actions (for example, adding users remotely or remote unlocks) would be unavailable during an outage.
After discussion the council moved, recorded roll call and adopted Resolution 25R71. Roll‑call results were recorded in the transcript with a majority in favor and at least one dissenting vote reported during the roll call.
Next steps: staff will finalize the agreement and schedule implementation work with vendor and department heads; funding was discussed as part of the current capital/program budget but no additional appropriation detail was recorded on the council floor.
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