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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Evansville Board of Public Safety Meeting - September 9, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, September 9, 2026

BodyEvansville, Indiana

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, September 9, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 41:44

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

You can tell them something I'll work on.

0:07

And then you can tell me, hey, we're going to go with this guy.

0:13

All right.

0:15

We are ready to begin the City of Evansville Port of Public Safety meeting.

0:20

It is our 17th scheduled meeting of the year.

0:23

But before we get into the board's business, would everybody stand and say a pledge of allegiance?

0:32

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:36

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:49

Okay, first up, we have uh on our agenda is the ratifying of some consensus votes that we did by email.

0:58

They are listed under A and B.

1:02

Several of them had to do with dumpsters and an event event request as well.

1:08

And so I'm going to move, we make a motion to ratify those.

1:14

I will second.

1:16

All in favor say aye.

1:17

Aye.

1:17

Same sign opposed.

1:20

It is ratified and approved.

1:25

Okay, I believe we have some gentlemen that want to make public comment to the board.

1:34

We're going to go first.

1:35

You you most certainly can.

1:51

Could you please state your names and your addresses for the record, please?

1:55

My name is Barton Heath, 1744 Brent Drive, Newburgh, Indiana.

2:03

Alex Keckner, 7301 Kramer Road, Evansville.

2:07

I'm sorry, what was your last name again?

2:09

Gechner.

2:10

Can you spell that for me?

2:11

G-O-E-C-K-N-E-R.

2:14

Thank you.

2:16

The uh the reason we're here is we're with DFLOC Evansville, and uh we'd like to request that uh you uh deny funding and remove the Flock and ALPR cameras.

2:31

We'd like them removed.

2:34

Uh we want the safety board to cancel and not renew their contracts with any other agency either.

2:41

We have been convicted of no crime and object to being surveilled.

2:46

Uh in my case, I started out in uh Ivy Tech many years ago in uh 1987.

2:54

I was in electronics.

2:57

And uh during a tour through the uh robotics lab, our instructor stopped and pointed out some uh hardware that they were using, some electronics.

3:10

And he told us that uh uh that had just been released from the Navy.

3:16

It was a classified uh classified item.

3:20

And uh we asked him if he had worked on that in his time in the Navy, because he had just recently gotten out.

3:28

And he said, no, that was on uh submarines in the 1940s.

3:34

So 40 years and they're just releasing this, and it wasn't for the public good, it was for the business of robotics for the uh for the industries.

3:49

Uh so I immediately asked him, well, what do they have now?

3:56

And he said, Well, they'll tell you when they want you to know.

4:00

So all of these cameras are currently out there and it's a private business.

4:06

We don't know what they know.

4:09

Uh we can't find out anything about what these cameras do or what their capabilities are.

4:15

And if we could, it could be classified, you know, we wouldn't be allowed to know.

4:20

And I think as the public goes, you can't separate your public from your private.

4:26

It's either it's either publicly owned and operated or it's not.

4:31

And if it were private, it wouldn't be allowed in the public space.

4:37

So uh then I ran into a guy in one of my works assignments, and he was in uh computer classes, and he was uh talking about data collection.

4:54

And he was also a graduate of Ivy Tech.

5:00

He told me that uh they would they were having to double the size of our employer's data center because it was uh it was not keeping up, and they were going to double or triple the size of it.

5:11

And I said, Well, why don't they just reduce the amount of data?

5:15

And he said, You don't understand data collection.

5:20

If you don't use it, it doesn't matter, you can't get rid of it because you can sell it.

5:26

So this data that they're collecting could be for sale, and they keep everything because that's their nature.

5:35

And uh I don't believe that we need to be subjected to that kind of scrutiny when we have done nothing wrong.

5:45

And uh we believe that recent cases have shown it can be abused, that the people that have uh the capacity to use it, abuse it, and we'll continue doing that because there's no end to that.

6:01

It just keeps continuing on.

6:04

And uh sometimes it gets denied, sometimes it gets uh it gets some justice.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Technology and Innovation██████████████████████████████████████████42%

Procedural█████████████████17%

Procurement███████████████15%

Public Safety██████████10%

Event Planning█████████9%

Transportation Safety█████5%

Infrastructure██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Evansville Board of Public Safety Meeting - September 9, 2026

The Evansville Board of Public Safety held its 17th scheduled meeting of the year on September 9, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. The board addressed routine approvals, public comment on surveillance cameras, handicapped parking requests, departmental reports, special event permits, road closures, and vendor licenses. Several items were tabled for further review.

Public Comments & Testimony

Barton Heath and Alex Keckner, representatives of DFLOC Evansville, spoke in opposition to the use of Flock automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. They argued that the cameras constitute warrantless surveillance, raised concerns about data collection and potential abuse, and requested the board deny funding and remove the cameras. Board members responded, noting that the Evansville system is limited to license plate reading, governed by contract, and has been used to recover stolen vehicles. The board acknowledged the concerns and stated they would revisit the issue when it comes before them.

Discussion Items

Old Business – Handicapped Parking:

The board approved a request for a handicapped parking space at 724 E. Powell Avenue. The resident has a driveway but it is too narrow for a wheelchair van; the wheelchair lift requires use of the front of the house.
The board approved a request for a handicapped parking space on the side of the building at 39 W. Columbia Street. The resident's apartment entrance is on Columbia Street, but parking is only available behind the building, creating mobility difficulties. The 30-minute parking sign on Baker Avenue will be relocated to accommodate the new space.

Departmental Reports:

Police Department:

Captain John McQuay requested approval of an interlocal cooperation agreement for a joint river patrol with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department. The board tabled the item at McQuay's request for further review.

Fire Department:

Deputy Chief Kim Garrett requested to open bids for EMS consumables. The board approved opening the bids, which were then read. Due to the complexity and unclear pricing structures, the board took the bids under advisement for further review rather than awarding immediately.

Special Event Permits:

Sergeant Nick Winsett (represented by Curtis) presented multiple special event permits, all of which were approved unanimously. The approved events include:
- Kidz Matter Conference Party (Old National Events Plaza): street closure on October 5.
- Harrison Marching Band Invitational: street closure on September 26.
- Lincolnshire Front Porch Festival and GLNA Block Party: street closures on October 3-4.
- Drumstick Dash (Evansville Rescue Mission): charity run on November 7.
- Jacobsville Trunk or Treat: street closure on October 30.
- Catanese Real Estate Car Show: street closure on October 25.
- Hadi Shrine Fall Ceremonial Parade: parade route on November 14.
- Amvets Post 84 Second Annual Car Show: street closure on September 26.

Consent Section (Road Closures, Dealers):

The board approved a series of road closures by Deig Bros Construction for precast drainage structure installations on various dates in September and October.
The board approved the precious metal dealer license for Road Show Concepts, LLC, though members requested future submissions include the specific location of their events in Evansville.
The board approved the secondhand merchant license for ecoATM LLC at 730 S Green River Road.

Other Business:

The board approved claims and the minutes from the August 26, 2026 meeting.
The next meeting was announced for Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. in Civic Center Room 301.

Key Outcomes

The two handicapped parking requests were approved.
The joint river patrol agreement was tabled.
EMS consumables bids were taken under advisement.
All nine special event permits were approved.
Road closures, precious metal dealer, and secondhand merchant licenses were approved.
Claims and August minutes were approved.

Meeting Transcript

You can tell them something I'll work on. And then you can tell me, hey, we're going to go with this guy. All right. We are ready to begin the City of Evansville Port of Public Safety meeting. It is our 17th scheduled meeting of the year. But before we get into the board's business, would everybody stand and say a pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. Okay, first up, we have uh on our agenda is the ratifying of some consensus votes that we did by email. They are listed under A and B. Several of them had to do with dumpsters and an event event request as well. And so I'm going to move, we make a motion to ratify those. I will second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Same sign opposed. It is ratified and approved. Okay, I believe we have some gentlemen that want to make public comment to the board. We're going to go first. You you most certainly can. Could you please state your names and your addresses for the record, please? My name is Barton Heath, 1744 Brent Drive, Newburgh, Indiana. Alex Keckner, 7301 Kramer Road, Evansville. I'm sorry, what was your last name again? Gechner. Can you spell that for me? G-O-E-C-K-N-E-R. Thank you. The uh the reason we're here is we're with DFLOC Evansville, and uh we'd like to request that uh you uh deny funding and remove the Flock and ALPR cameras. We'd like them removed. Uh we want the safety board to cancel and not renew their contracts with any other agency either. We have been convicted of no crime and object to being surveilled. Uh in my case, I started out in uh Ivy Tech many years ago in uh 1987. I was in electronics. And uh during a tour through the uh robotics lab, our instructor stopped and pointed out some uh hardware that they were using, some electronics. And he told us that uh uh that had just been released from the Navy. It was a classified uh classified item. And uh we asked him if he had worked on that in his time in the Navy, because he had just recently gotten out. And he said, no, that was on uh submarines in the 1940s. So 40 years and they're just releasing this, and it wasn't for the public good, it was for the business of robotics for the uh for the industries. Uh so I immediately asked him, well, what do they have now? And he said, Well, they'll tell you when they want you to know. So all of these cameras are currently out there and it's a private business. We don't know what they know. Uh we can't find out anything about what these cameras do or what their capabilities are. And if we could, it could be classified, you know, we wouldn't be allowed to know. And I think as the public goes, you can't separate your public from your private. It's either it's either publicly owned and operated or it's not. And if it were private, it wouldn't be allowed in the public space. So uh then I ran into a guy in one of my works assignments, and he was in uh computer classes, and he was uh talking about data collection.

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