Tacoma — Two long-inactive security cameras on the Bridge of Glass were part of work that cost the city of Tacoma more than $30,000, according to a contract signed in late 2002.
The promise of providing bridge security and protecting valuable art created and selected by the artist Dale Chihuly was considered so important at the time, the contracted work and payments were approved under an emergency declaration.
“The work needs to be done immediately to address security concerns due to the incidents of vandalism on the bridge and area,” a purchase document stated.
The contract, along with other purchase and receipt information, was sent to The News Tribune from the city in a release of documents related to the bridge cameras.
Earlier this month, The News Tribune reported that the bridge cameras have been out of operation for years, falling into disrepair before 2014 and not returned to service after it was believed that no one was using the cameras for security or monitoring purposes.
It remains unclear if anyone with the city or the Museum of Glass, which at one time had cables run from the cameras to its control center, ever used the cameras.
The cameras were once touted as capable of sending a feed to the city’s website for Tacoma police to monitor in sets inside their patrol cars, a claim that later turned out to be incorrect.
The dormant cameras were in position on the bridge during a reported attack in the early morning of May 19 involving the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s director, Dr. Anthony Chen.
Chen said he was attacked after confronting a man performing bicycle stunts that he believed were damaging the bridge’s benches. According to the initial police report, the man later approached Chen from behind and attacked him.
That case is still open, according to Wendy Haddow, spokeswoman for Tacoma Police Department, in response to questions Thursday about the case’s status.
“This is an active investigation and no arrests have been made,” Haddow wrote.
DOCUMENTS DETAIL SENSE OF URGENCY
According to purchase documents, the city on Dec. 12, 2002 entered into an “emergency contract” with REP Electric Inc. to install a “monitoring camera system and miscellaneous electrical work” on the I-705 pedestrian overpass, known as the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, for its extensive glass art collection contributed by Chihuly to the city.
The cameras were to help monitor any instances of vandalism or damage to the art on the bridge. Adding to the sense of urgency at the time was an August 2002 incident involving gunfire that damaged glass panels on the bridge’s Venetian Wall.
At the time of installation, the art’s estimated worth was $12 million, the cameras were promoted as an added layer of security. The requisition paperwork for the cameras is dated Oct. 17, 2002 and describes the purchase as a “declaration of emergency.”
A letter dated Jan. 12, 2004, from the city to REP Electric noted completion of the work, for a final cost of $34,573.28. In addition to the cameras, other electrical work in the area cited in the original contract was part of the final total, with work in the area completed in June 2003.
Former Mayor Bill Baarsma, who was leading the city at the time of the camera installation, told The News Tribune via email in response to questions recently that the shooting that damaged the bridge panels was “a very big deal.”
“As a result, with great fanfare, the cameras were installed and the thought was that the precious art pieces, worth millions of dollars and personally selected and placed by Dale, would be secured,” he wrote.
The terms of the contract give a glimpse of who would actually be able to monitor the cameras and more details about the cameras themselves.
The contract called for the installation of “2 monitoring cameras (provided by City) at Pier 6 on top of canopy; at east end on top of Seafoam Pavilion; Mount on camera poles …”
The cameras were to be installed as follows: “Provide and install fiber optic signal cable … from cameras to Control Room in Museum of Glass (MOG) basement/garage (conduits installed under bridge contract).”
It also required installers to “Test system for proper operation (City to make connections at Control Room).”
That detail is in line with what The News Tribune reported in 2002 in an article about bridge and museum security, noting: “At all times, a museum security guard will mind four screens with multiple views of the site.”
April Matson, a representative for The Museum of Glass and contacted by The News Tribune in late May, maintained that the bridge and cameras were the responsibility of the city, and did not offer any details on current security measures for the museum itself.
“The Bridge of Glass is overseen by the City of Tacoma. The cameras in that area are operated by the city as well,” she wrote.
She also noted in a later email: “We also have no one on staff who is aware of what the situation was in 2002. As it relates to our operation today, for safety and security reasons we aren’t comfortable sharing details about our security measures.”
Various city representatives also noted a lack of anyone still around who could speak to past arrangements for the cameras, and it remains uncertain what, if any future plans are in regards to the cameras and bridge security.
In a statement Thursday from the City of Tacoma, Maria Lee, media representative, wrote: “I was looking to see if there is more info that we can provide on this topic, but what you were provided in the way of records is all we were able to find.”
Baarsma, in his email, noted: “I always thought that there would be on-site security provided in partnership with MOG. That was many city managers and MOG directors ago, of course.”
