Lehighton will spend $52,000 for a boroughwide base surveillance system, as well as new cameras for its police department.

On a 6-1 vote, borough council on Monday approved the surveillance system proposal from VistaCom of Allentown. Councilman Joe Flickinger was opposed.Before the vote, Councilman Scott Rehrig said a demonstration on the system was "sensational."Flickinger agreed, and said, "they were very phenomenal cameras."But Flickinger recommended that the borough look to purchase the cameras with next year's budget.Borough manager Nicole Beckett said the costs will be split from each area of the budget that will have surveillance.In February, police Chief Brian Biechy said the project would include hardware, software and the installation of up to 64 cameras.Biechy said they would be high-end cameras that would be location-specific, some of which would be pole-mounted to allow for the best facial identification.Each place the cameras will be installed will be a public access area, Biechy said.He said there are a variety of systems throughout the borough, and that this would merely replace older, outdated, individual systems.Biechy said the decision as to where the cameras would be placed would be determined through a combination of the company and the borough.Gypsy Hill RoadAlso on Monday, council agreed to advertise an ordinance that states there are to be no trucks traveling on Gypsy Hill Road, except for local deliveries.Beckett said the road is scheduled to be paved on Wednesday, weather-permitting, Beckett said.The road is west of the high school and has had to be shut down over the years due to constant flooding issues.Beckett said the water issue has existed for years.The project is accounted for in the budget, she said.