Progress continues to be made in assigning projects to be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). As reported previously, two technology projects—CAD/RMS system for the Police Department and an online permitting system for the Community Development Department—were approved by the Board of Selectmen in June. HVAC projects at the high school and Wells Road School were approved in August. At its Sept. 6 meeting, the BOS approved four additional projects.
The first set of projects involves the core networking infrastructure of the Town’s technology platform, equipment that is more than a decade old and was purchased mostly used. The equipment is out of warranty and replacement parts are very difficult to obtain. Also, upgrades to the phone system and Wi-Fi cannot be completed without these upgrades. Approved for purchase are switches and routers for the Parks and Recreation Office, Public Works garage, Senior Center, Library, Police Department and Town Hall; two new firewalls for the Town Hall and the Police Department; and an overhaul of the Wi-Fi network. The cost of these upgrades is $200,000.
The second project involves refreshing and updating the town webpage (granby-ct.gov). The current website vendor, CivicPlus, will upgrade the design of the page and make improvements in its usability and accessibility, making it user friendly for residents to navigate. It will include a new tool, CivicSend, which is used to distribute non-emergency communication to residents. The cost of updating is $44,300.
The Farmington Valley Health District requested ARPA funding from its ten member towns of $444,544; Granby’s share is $44,449. These funds will be used to obtain a Community Outreach Coordinator; to enhance or replace aging IT infrastructure—computers, laptops, remote access and software; provide staff training; obtain a communication consultant to increase outreach; and to purchase a cargo van for transporting supplies and materials needed to support mass vaccination clinics and other outreach activities.
The fourth project that was approved is the purchase of the Axon Fleet 3 in-car video system to upgrade the Police Department’s video camera system that is old and may not link up correctly with the body camera system. Axon includes two cameras for each of the department’s six marked police vehicles. It includes the hardware, software, online storage, licensing, and warranty. The cost of $42,026 includes the fee for the modems purchased from AT&T and will pay a portion of the annual charges going forward.
Residents who have comments and suggestions for the new webpage can email them to webpage@granby-ct.gov