Edmond will install AI-powered security cameras at Arcadia Lake that can search for people by physical appearance, the City Council decided in a unanimous vote Oct. 26.

The cameras, made by Avigilon, let operators search footage by a person's race, gender, age, build or clothing, first reported by the Journal Record. An operator could look for, say, a woman wearing brown boots. The system can also trace a person's path across multiple cameras.

The council approved a $250,000 transfer from park reserves to fund the upgrades, which include automated gates and cameras at all five lake entrances, according to the city's meeting update. Both votes passed 5-0.

The cameras are part of a broader safety overhaul after a May 3 mass shooting near Scissortail Campground that killed 18-year-old Avianna Smith-Gray and injured 22 others.

Of the $250,000, about $90,000 covers the cameras and on-site server support, with a $30,000 recurring license fee due every three to four years, according to Frank Hill, Edmond's interim parks and recreation director. The remaining $130,000 pays for automatic gates and other upgrades.

The city awarded an $89,327.87 contract to Oklahoma City-based Digi Security Systems for the camera installation. Mayor Mark Nash said at the Oct. 26 meeting that the Avigilon system is the same technology already running at Edmond City Hall.

Avigilon's cameras can also support facial recognition software, but that requires a separate company license the city has not purchased. No agenda item or discussion at the Oct. 26 meeting addressed buying that license, according to the Journal Record. If enabled, the facial recognition platform would let administrators build watch lists of up to 500 profiles using uploaded photos or video clips.

The AI capabilities drew concern from Edmond resident Skyla Lesseg, 27, who spoke at the meeting. Lesseg compared the system's appearance-search function to the search tools available in Flock license plate reader cameras, which are the subject of a separate statewide debate.

Nash said he disagreed with that comparison, calling the Avigilon units video surveillance cameras like those at City Hall and saying Flock is a different type of equipment.

Hill said the cameras will face outward at lake entrances and will not monitor activity inside the park or at pavilions. He described the system as tracking who enters the parks at different locations.

City staff noted in the agenda item that the gates and cameras should be installed at all five entrances within six months.

The approval comes as Oklahoma lawmakers examine AI surveillance technology more broadly. State Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, presented an interim study on Flock cameras to the Public Safety Committee on Oct. 21, according to a state Senate press release. Separately, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Oct. 1 that a deputy's unwarranted use of license plate reader searches violated the Fourth Amendment, according to KGOU.

The sources reviewed did not identify a city policy governing any future purchase of facial-recognition capabilities.