Wacor Electronics, the company that installed surveillance cameras on Beaver Avenue in State College, recently received approval to install security equipment in three Centre County government buildings

The three buildings are the Willowbank building, Centre Crest Retirement Home and Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte.

State College Borough Council approved Wacor for the Beaver Canyon camera project in May. However, because of problems with scheduling and equipment, Wacor was forced to delay completion far past the 90-day deadline originally proposed.

State College Police Chief Tom King said the last of the three cameras in Beaver Canyon became operational Sept. 18 and each one has been recording activity in the area since then. The other two cameras began recording Sept. 12, but a software glitch delayed the operation of the third, King said.

Jon Eich, director of administrative services for Centre County, said the delays and problems Wacor experienced in State College were not taken into consideration when choosing them for the county's new security project.

"Wacor was already on the state contract list ... and we could select them without having to go through a whole bidding process," he said. "They came recommended to us by our emergency management director."

He said the biggest reason for choosing the company was their ability to design the entire system, in addition to installing it, which saves time and effort for county officials.

Wacor was approved for the Centre County project Sept. 16, and Eich said the company and the county do not expect delays. He added that Wacor originally wanted to put these new projects on their schedule as early as last spring.

"They wanted to go faster than we did," he said.

The Centre County project will be much larger than the installation of the Beaver Canyon cameras. It will involve the installation of not only cameras and monitors, but also ID card readers at all entrances, panic buttons and intercoms, Eich said.

The price tag for the whole system is nearly $230,000, and he expects completion by the end of this fall.

The State College camera project cost about $24,410.

Wade Hall, president of Wacor, said the new Centre County project is a medium to medium-large venture for his company, and it is the only one scheduled in Centre County. He added that this security system is an entirely different and more complex project than the Beaver Avenue cameras.

It should be completed in three to four months, he said.

Hall said he expects no delays, and added that the postponements on the State College project were beyond his company's control. He also said the relationship between Wacor and the State College Borough was not strained by the numerous delays.

King's frustrations with the State College project had reached a peak during the stalled operation of the third Beaver Canyon camera. At that point, he had said he would consider consulting the borough solicitor to discuss legal action for breach of contract suit if Wacor's response was not satisfactory.