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MURFREESBORO – At their meeting here on April 13, the Murfreesboro Town Council approved using grant funds to add cameras to parts of Main Street.

The money for the purchase will come from the Main Street program grant which was awarded to the town from the state budget late last year. Murfreesboro received a total of $150,000 to use for various projects to revitalize and improve Main Street at no cost to the town itself.

“There were three locations that were identified that would probably give us the most coverage for Main Street,” explained Murfreesboro Police Captain James Dilday, speaking on behalf of Police Chief David Griffith who wasn’t able to attend Wednesday’s meeting.

Dilday explained that one camera would have a fish-eye lens to get a wider range of coverage, while others would be small bullet cameras and license plate cameras. They would be installed in the area of Main Street between the Williams Street intersection and the Spring Avenue intersection.

“In total, we’re looking at six cameras, and it would cover pretty much where our businesses are on Main Street, with the option of growing later on,” Dilday concluded.

The total cost for the proposal was $24,620.

Originally, the Town Council had set aside only $20,000 of the Main Street grant to be used towards the camera project. But with a different potential project no longer going forward, they added $5,000 to cover the full cost of the cameras.

Council member Berna Stephens motioned to accept the camera proposal, and James Futrell provided the second. The vote was unanimously in favor.

Last month, the council approved another $20,000 of the Main Street program funds to be allocated for façade grants. Those grants will help businesses on Main Street make improvements and repairs to the exterior of their buildings. The deadline to apply for a façade grant is May 25.

Other potential projects to utilize the Main Street money include enhanced lighting, more Christmas decorations, a new welcome sign to the town, a mural, and more. Those projects currently remain in the discussion phase and are not approved to move forward yet.