BEAUMONT, Texas — The city of Beaumont is beefing up park security more than a month after a shooting left three people injured at Rogers Park.
City council members voted in favor of adding security to cameras to parks and community centers in Beaumont Tuesday. Officials approved spending the $64,000 on camera equipment to be used at Central Park, Imagination Station, John Paul David, Alice Keith and Rogers Park.
Councilman Mike Getz has called for the cameras to be added since the October shooting. He wants to make public spaces like parks safer.
“It shows that the city manager is listening to us,” Councilman Getz said. “It had to have the support of council to put their cameras not just in Rogers Park, but at other parks throughout the city. It's huge."
Each park will get cameras capable of reading license plates installed at every entrance to all parks. Fourteen 360-degree cameras will monitor outside community centers, restroom areas and parking lots for activity that looks suspicious.
“I think that cameras really help the police find out who's involved, especially these new ones,” Councilman Getz said. “They are so clear, the images are so clear, you're going to be able to identify the people."
City leaders did not stop at the cameras. They now have $1.4 million budgeted for park improvement city-wide.
“One thing the city of Beaumont hasn't focused on in the past is park improvements, and that's something that's free to the entire community,” Councilman AJ Turner said. “And you see we've increased our budget from 130,000 to 1.4 million that's a huge jump.”
Parks and recreation officials proposed replacing multiple playground in Central Park, Imagination Station and Charlton pollard park. The city will also study ways to fight flooding at the Henry Homberg golf course in Tyrrell park.
Mayor Robin Mouton wants to see the city's first designated football field built.
“To not have a practice football field, I think that would be a neglect on our part," Mayor Mouton said.
The mayor supports the new money and promises to put it to good use.
“It's never going to be enough but we want to make sure that we're giving the citizens the most quality of life that we can with the budget we have," Mouton said.