Hudson Community Television has completed a security camera upgrade that officials say will improve safety, increase storage capacity, and eliminate annual maintenance costs, even as the organization continues recovering from significant damage caused by a summer lightning strike.
The improvements were highlighted during a late September meeting of the Hudson Cable Utility Advisory Committee, where HCTV Director Michael Johnson credited Committee Chair Mike O’Keefe for playing a hands-on role in the installation.
“I want to start by thanking Mike O’Keefe for this. He saved us $4,500. He was out there literally installing the cameras, he was doing the work and was a huge help,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the previous camera system had become outdated and increasingly unreliable after years of service.
“The old cameras were aging, they were beginning to fail, and we needed storage,” he said. “We have so many video-on-demand files and this essentially allowed us to free up our old video server that we were using as storage while also fixing another problem that’s going to last the town another 10 years with much better quality.”
Johnson said the upgraded system provides significantly improved image quality while strengthening security throughout the facility. The project was funded through an out-of-budget request approved by the Board of Selectmen.
O’Keefe noted that the new system offers operational benefits beyond improved surveillance.
“It’s a much more state-of-the-art system,” he said. “It’s also going to make it much easier to give the information to other people in town who need access. The Rec people have been asking for a while to get access to the cameras upstairs around their facility, and that will be easy to do.”
Officials noted that the upgrade also eliminates annual fees associated with the previous system.
“The old system was put in when the building was built,” O’Keefe said. “That was at least 12 years ago, though I think we might have replaced one or two cameras over the life of it. Still, they were using a very old technology.”
While committee members praised the new equipment, questions were raised about building security.
“Is the building lighted all night?” asked committee member Diane Cannava. “What’s the lighting like? Is it motion sensitive or anything?”
“Are the cameras IR?” added committee member Len Segal.
Johnson explained that indoor areas of the facility are protected by motion sensors, while exterior lighting relies on timed lighting systems and nearby streetlights. He added that the cameras are equipped with infrared capabilities, although the feature is not typically necessary because of the amount of available ambient light around the building.
The security upgrade comes as HCTV continues to repair damage caused by a severe storm and lightning strike that hit the facility on July 24.
“We had a significant storm on July 24 this year and we lost a lot in our garage,” Johnson said. “Every outlet was dead from a lightning strike. The heating and cooling system felt it, the board inside of it got fried from the strike.”
Among the damaged equipment was the facility’s generator, which had recently received a new battery.
“Two days before, we’d just put a new battery in our generator that got fried,” Johnson said.
Officials reported that insurance covered the majority of the repair costs. However, some repairs and restoration work continued through the end of September as HCTV worked to fully recover from the storm.