Port Richey Council To Vote On Park, Red-Light Cameras

PORT RICHEY - Red-light cameras are a gray area in Florida law.

The state says communities can install the traffic control devices, but can't really use them, because a police officer must observe a violation to issue a ticket.

Tonight, city council members will vote on a local traffic ordinance that, they argue, will allow the city to use the cameras without threat of state sanctions.

"We have the authority, under home rule, to pass local traffic ordinances as long as they are not in contravention of state ordinances," Interim City Manager Jim Mathieu said.

If council members approve the deal, Port Richey will become one of a handful of cities across Florida to use the real-time video cameras.

Pembroke Pines, Apopka and Gulf Breeze have been using the cameras by exploiting a loophole in the law that allows municipalities to enact ordinances or install the cameras on city or privately owned property.

Port Richey has negotiated a five-year contract with Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions to install and maintain the cameras. In return, the company will get a percentage of the revenue, or about $40, from each ticket issued.

"This project won't cost the city a dime," Mathieu said.

The system would provide photographs and video of a vehicle and its license plate, he said. The police department, which would have 24-hour access to the cameras via the company's Web site, would review the evidence and decide whether it backs up a citation. Any tickets or warnings would be mailed to the vehicle's registered owner.

City and company officials haven't decided on a precise location for the cameras, but they're likely to be put along a section of U.S. 19 near the Ridge Road intersection.

Some Say Cameras Are Gimmick

The controversial red-light cameras are being used in 14 states.

Supporters of the high-speed surveillance equipment say it's a way to crack down on red-light scofflaws while generating revenue for municipal coffers. Opponents say the cameras are a revenue-generating gimmick and do little to crack down on violators.

Advocacy groups and a handful of municipalities across the state have lobbied the Legislature for years - with little success - to pass a law allowing the cameras.

Legislation named after Mark Wandall, who died in 2003 when a red-light runner slammed into his car, was approved by a House subcommittee in the 2006 session but never made it to the floor for a vote. That proposal is expected to be revisited next year.

In 2005, then-Attorney General Charlie Crist deemed it "unlawful" for cities to give red-light camera tickets without the explicit sanction of the Legislature.

The state Department of Transportation has raised objections with several cities about placing the cameras on state highways, intersections and other rights of way.

Mathieu said he has spoken with DOT officials about the city's plans.

"It appears that they've softened their stance," he said. "But we've added wording to the contract that allows us to take them down if they are later determined to be unlawful."

Park Decision To Be Made

In other business tonight, council members are expected to decide whether to purchase a dilapidated mobile home park in the crime-ridden east end, with the intention of finding someone to redevelop it.

The park at River Gulf Road and Grand Boulevard is owned by an investment group and listed under a corporation called Port Richey Mobile Home Park Inc.

Two weeks ago, the bank began foreclosing on the one-acre riverfront property. It's listed for $799,000 but city officials are trying to negotiate a lower price.

Known as the "Spider's Web" to police and neighbors, the no-name park has for years been the epicenter of drug-dealing, vagrancy and prostitution in the east end.

The city council meets at 7:30 tonight at city hall, 6333 Ridge Road.