Missoula council pauses parks camera upgrade after public privacy concerns

Missoula city leaders sent a proposed parks security-camera upgrade back to committee on July 3 after residents raised privacy and vendor-security concerns during public comment.

Mayor Andrea Davis told listeners the proposal is an upgrade to cameras already in place at a limited number of facilities and that the city should have shared more information earlier. "This proposal is not that, and I will walk you through exactly what it is," Davis said, adding the public hearing was tied to budget authority for replacement work.

Marina Yoshioka, director of Parks and Recreation, said the project covers four sites: Currents Aquatic Center, Fort Missoula Regional Park, Splash Montana and Mobash Skatepark. "This proposal is about aging infrastructure in need of replacement," Yoshioka said, noting Parks has operated security cameras since 2006 and that the upgrade is not a parks-wide expansion.

Eric Holstrom of the city's IT department described the procurement approach and the vendor arrangements the city considered. "Pine Cove is the name of that company," Holstrom said, and he explained the city recommended Verkada as the camera provider after work with internal IT staff and county partners. He said the city pays a five-year license up front; the five-year licensing for Aquatics was cited as about $37,000 to $38,000 and licensing for Fort Missoula about $50,000, which Holstrom attributed in part to different camera counts and capabilities.

Several residents urged more caution. "I'm not here to argue against security cameras. I'm here because this specific contract with this company through this vendor is the wrong choice for Missoula," said resident Nathan Stevens, who cited past enforcement actions and high-profile breaches associated with the vendor. Stevens told the council that Verkada had been fined and that documentation shows hardware with plate-reading and facial-recognition features that could be enabled by software.

Another resident, Andrea Schafer, said cameras could push people away from gathering in parks and called the proposal "a solution in search of a problem." Schafer said she rarely sees material vandalism at her nearby park and suggested the city prioritize routine maintenance issues such as litter and pet waste.

City officials emphasized limits in current plans: cameras are installed on building corners, at cash-handling locations, in parking lots and near athletic fields, and Parks does not actively monitor live feeds in most cases. Holstrom said the licensing model paid for camera service for a set period rather than creating a monthly subscription liability beyond the license term.

After hearing public testimony and staff explanations, the council referred the budget and procurement authority back to committee for further discussion and possible policy safeguards, according to the meeting recap on the program. The transcript did not include a formal vote tally or an adopted ordinance attached to the referral.

Next steps: the item will return to committee for more detailed review of procurement choices, contract terms and privacy protections before the council considers budget authority or final approval.