The protocol for a controversial proposal to place surveillance cameras in Beaver Canyon could be approved or rejected by State College Borough Council tonight.

Should council vote to accept the protocol, the plan would be approved in principle but would still require a vote to either accept a bid or reject all bids from companies wishing to install the cameras at the May 5 meeting. If council votes to reject the protocol tonight, the issue would die immediately and bids would be irrelevant.

Last April, a divided council authorized State College Police Chief Tom King to investigate the possibility of installing cameras on the 200 and 300 blocks of East Beaver Avenue. King conducted research and developed a proposal, which he presented to council last week.

Although a riot prevention committee generated the idea, King has repeatedly emphasized the need for additional measures in combating crime in the vicinity of Beaver Canyon.

Recent incidents in that area have impacted the stance of Council President Richard McCarl, who was undecided, but now says he is leaning toward supporting the protocol.

"I can't see any infringement on people's privacy since cameras would be focusing on a public street," McCarl said. "I didn't hear anything at the work session to convince me otherwise. If nothing had happened in that area in the last several weeks, I would probably be less inclined to support the project."

Council member Jean McManis also said she will likely cast her vote in support of the plan.

"If someone could objectively demonstrate that this is an invasion of privacy, I would vote against it," McManis said. "However, in my opinion, privacy is not an entitlement in public space."

Council members Cathy Dauler and James Meyer support the proposal and Tom Daubert and Elizabeth Goreham are opposed. Council member Janet Knauer is undecided but said in the past that she is leaning against cameras.

From the date of approval, it would take about 90 days for cameras to be installed and become operational, King said. If approved before the end of the semester, installation would take place over the summer and cameras would be ready for the fall semester. Signs would be erected in Beaver Canyon to advise people that surveillance equipment is in use.

Recorded images would be stored digitally on a computer for a maximum of 30 days before being erased. If footage is needed for an investigation, it could be stored for a longer period of time, King said.

The plan calls for the establishment of a police chief's advisory committee to ensure implementation would take place in a public and professional manner. McCarl and several other local leaders would make up the five-person committee.

A referendum asking students if Penn State should partially fund the project was voted down by a 4-1 ratio. The question was on the ballot in this month's Undergraduate Student Government elections. The outcome, however, did not persuade the university administration to change its position.

"The university would honor its commitment to provide some of the funding needed by the Borough of State College for its public safety cameras, should the Borough move ahead with this initiative," Penn State President Graham Spanier said in an e-mail. "This was a commitment made a couple of years ago following a study of safety improvements that could be made downtown in the wake of a series of riots."