By Michele Newbanks

Staff Reporter

The costs of courthouse security was the subject of debate during Thursday morning’s Washington County Commission meeting.

A request for an additional $5,100 for additional updated software and a wireless camera for entrance to the single-point entry to the county courthouse were approved by the commissioners, but commissioners were not happy with the request. The cost to date of the security project is approximately $35,000.

“I would like to remind the people here that we did approve this a few weeks ago without much of a choice and we transferred $25,000 for the original request from the coroner in order to protect the integrity of the current budget for 2019,” said Commissioner Ron Feathers.

Thursday’s request was 20 percent override of the original request. He made the motion to approve the request with an instruction to the fiscal clerk to send a request to Washington County Common Pleas Judge Mark Kerenyi to be able to take the funds from the court’s special projects fund.

“There is approximately $30,000 in that fund and I would hope that they would partner with us to be able to take care of those needs at this point,” Feathers said.

Commission President David White agreed the funds should come from the special projects fund and the commission had reluctantly approved the original funds. He noted he had voted against the security project when it was first brought before the commission.

“It think it was an improper thing to be done,” White said of the security upgrades. “Nevertheless, the court informed us that the court would order it done if we didn’t approve it. We had very little choice.”

He said he had not agreed with the original proposed cost of $25,000 as the amount would not come close to what upgrades they were asking for.

“This is the second time they have increased. This is the second change order on it,” White said. “I expect it will not be the last. This is what I was afraid of to begin with. And I am not happy about this and will never be happy about this.”

He said if the updated software and camera were important to the court, the court should pay for them out of the special projects fund “as it was unimportant to anyone else in the courthouse.”

The targeted date to have the project finished is July 1.

“Yes, I believe we’ll meet that deadline, but not everything we wanted to and expected to at that time,” said Major Brian Schuck of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. “We’ll make adjustments in the meantime until we can get everything in place.”

When the public was invited to speak, things got heated between White, Schuck and Chief Deputy Mark Warden of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The computer system needs updated as it is used to lock the courthouse doors, Warden said. It wasn’t part of the plan, but when new swipe cards were ordered for courthouse employees, they learned the equipment was outdated.

“I understand but I will say this much, and I’m not trying to be contentious or yell, but when that was presented to us, we knew that changing those doors was part of the plan,” White said. “It was presented to us as part of the plan. The cost was given to us at $25,000 and we were told that’s what it was going to cost.”

Schuck said they didn’t do a systems check of that system and they found out during the process that the computer system would need updated.

“We’ve talked before, Commissioner, and we can’t help but what they tell us to do,” Warden said. “All we’re doing is trying to move the project forward, saying this is what we’ve got to have to make it happen.”

Warden said he spoke with Washington County Director of Buildings and Grounds Tim Marty and was told they would have to drill through Indiana limestone for the project.

“Drilling through 31 inches of limestone into the courthouse doesn’t make sense,” Warden said. “Now how can you project when they do that system and we start working on this that we know we’re going to have to drill through 31 inches of limestone. It’s impossible.”

“It’s this whole process that I’m against,” White explained. “I’ve been against it from the beginning. This is absolutely unnecessary.”

Feathers said the extra funding had been approved at that point and their job at that point was to steward the funding.

“We’ve approved it and it will be done,” he said. “All we’re doing is trying to protect the integrity of the budget.”

Feathers said Thursday afternoon that he spent the morning talking with the courts and they have agreed to pay the $5,100 from the special projects fund.

Schuck said after the meeting that they felt they needed to help make the courthouse secure for people who work and visit there.

Courthouse improvements include Americans with Disabilities Act compliant items on the doors, new electrical to handle the equipment and updated camera systems in and around the courthouse.

“It was so old and the cameras were so distorted you would struggle to identify someone on some of the cameras,” Schuck said.

He was told the amount of holes needed could make the limestone leak and it could eventually chip away. Only $1,000 of the requested $5,100 was for the security project. The other $4,100 was for the updated software.

He noted the Washington County Courthouse was the last with this size population to come within compliance of what the Ohio Supreme Court has required.

As part of the new security measures, come July 1, there will only be one public entrance into the building.

“If there’s going to be a threat at the courthouse, it’s going to be at that one way in, one way out to the courthouse,” Schuck said.

Warden said Washington County Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Williams requested a security assessment from the Ohio Supreme Court a year or so ago. Some recommendations were made and as a result, a security committee came up with security standards. Each county courthouse has their own standards to fit their needs.

“The standards should have been in place years ago,” Warden said.

Now that there are new security measures, employees have gone through training the last two weeks to get ready.

The measures include alarms added to some doors and motion sensors put into place, Warden said.

“That kind of thing,” he added.

He said the project is right on schedule and they are ready to go starting July 1.

“We’re just waiting on the inspection of the ADA entry,” he said. “We’re in line for the first of July to start the one-way entry for citizens.”

In other commission news:

∫ Christopher Wilson, chief building official of the Southeast Ohio Building Department, said there will be two classes on July 29 and 30 on the 2019 Residential Code of Ohio. This is will be free education for contractors, engineers and architects, as well as the general public, to get updated information on the new code.

“The code is only enforceable inside the municipality of Marietta,” Wilson said, however the residential code should be used throughout the county.

∫ Bids were opened for the courthouse stairs restoration project. The general estimate for the project was $107,000 and would restore and preserve the main courthouse stairs, said Tim Marty, Washington County director of buildings and grounds.

There were five bidders with estimates ranging from $83.688 to $109,000.

The first bid was from Coon Restoration of Louisville with a base price of $109,000. The second bid was from Midwest Maintenance Inc. of Piqua with a base price of $97,000. The third bid was from General Restoration Corp. of Columbus with a base price of $106,550. The fourth bid was from Mid-State Contractors of Marion with a base bid of $83,688. The fifth bid was from Quality Masonry of Marion with a base bid of $97,050.

∫ Hilles Hughes, deputy director, and David Browne, executive director of the Washington County Behavioral Health Board updated the commissioners about a variety of things the board is working on. They are updating their Behavioral Health Resource Directory and setting up a new website.

Several goals and objectives were recently planned, including assessing physical space and staff capacity needs, working with providers to assess facility needs as the board contracts for services and increase and improve the capacity and quality of behavioral health services.

The board is working with the Washington County Public Library system on a year-long mental health awareness campaign.

∫ Washington County Treasurer Tammy Bates discussed the increase in interest the county is receiving from Peoples Bank. In April, the county received interest of approximately $6,000, while in May, approximately $35,684 was received. Bates had renegotiated the interest rate with the bank, which increased from .35 percent to 2.5 percent.

A drop box is planned for the old Chase building so citizens will be able to drop off property tax, child support or sewer payments after hours. The drop box will not have service, it will be like a deposit box, White said.

“Tammy’s requested this since she came to office,” he added.

Michele Newbanks can be reached at mnewbanks@mariettatimes.com.