Shenandoah City Council discussed various capital projects, including police department equipment and public works requests, at a regular workshop meeting June 8.

The implementation of police body-worn cameras was one consideration discussed at the meeting. The council has been in talks to purchase the highly scrutinized devices since last year.

“It’s new technology that will help protect the officers from false accusations,” City Administrator Greg Smith said. “It also is protection during encounters with police officers. Everybody should have a body camera if we’re going to use them. Everybody is subject to getting into a situation where a body camera should be used.”

Over the past year, the Shenandoah Police Department has experimented with different body cameras to see which device works best for its officers. According to Smith, WatchGuard is the brand the city is considering, and it would cost $19,000 to outfit the entire force—not including data storage costs that could run an additional $19,600.

Smith said it is unlikely body cameras will be discussed again until the council can see what potential changes regarding the technology come about during the next state Legislative session.

The council also discussed an update on the change in policy made in 2015 to replace police department Chevy Tahoes after four years instead of three, adding a community resource officer to the force and purchasing a new interview camera system.

The council also requested to return to purchasing Chevy Tahoes instead of Ford Explorers for the department’s future fleet of vehicles.

The Woodlands Township

Typically meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. and third Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. 2801 Technology Forest Blvd., The Woodlands www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov Meeting dates: July 21, 27

Montgomery County Commissioners Court

Meets at 9:30 a.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. 501 N. Thompson St., Conroe www.mctx.org Meeting dates: July 26, Aug. 9

Oak Ridge North City Council

Meets at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Monday of every month. 27424 Robinson Road, Oak Ridge North www.oakridgenorth.com Meeting dates: July 25, Aug. 8

Shenandoah City Council

Meets the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. 29955 I-45 N., Shenandoah www.shenandoahtx.us Meeting dates: July 27, Aug. 10