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WILKES-BARRE — The city reissued a call to vendors for maintenance of its camera surveillance system, hoping the second request for proposals will draw a better response.

The specifications are the same for the annual contract covering an estimated 290 cameras, the hardware associated with them and the wall of video monitors in the command center at the Wilkes-Barre Police Department headquarters.

The RFP asked for detailed information from the contractors, including key personnel and previous projects. The contractors are specifically instructed not to submit cost estimates.

The deadline to submit proposals is 4 p.m. on Jan. 30. From that point, the city will determine if it will proceed to negotiate a non-bid, professional services contract.

City officials were not happy that they received just two replies to the initial RFP issued in October of last year and decided to re-advertise, said Ted Wampole, city administrator.

“We’re trying a different route,” he said Monday of the reissue.

The RFP is on the city’s web site and has been picked up by other sites. Already there have been at least four inquiries about the RFP, leaving Wampole hopeful for a better response.

The system, built with more than $3.6 million in state and federal funds, went online in 2010. It previously had been operated by the nonprofit corporation Hawkeye Security Solutions Inc. until it dissolved in December 2015 and transferred its assets to the city.

The citywide surveillance is working, Wampole said. But it is fully funded by the city, with no outside source of revenue to pay for the service as was previously the case.

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By Jerry Lynott

[email protected]

Wilkes-Barre reissued a Request for Proposals for an annual maintenance contract of the camera surveillance system. The RFP can be found under City Announcements on the web site www.wilkes-barre.pa.us.

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott