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Board of Commissioners Chairman John Merriman reported he and County Administrator John Males propose all courthouse doors be locked except for the one on the north side. The Public Safety & Court Committee forwarded the proposal to the August Finance Committee meeting.

Emergency Management Director Todd Hillman said they need to decide the amount of security they want to pay for.

"Do you want alarms so we know somebody is going out? Do we want to know when the door opens?...How far do we want to go with this?" Hillman asked the committee.

"I want to go the full shot," stated Committee member and Commissioner Gary Russell.

"What happens when an alarm goes off?" asked Committee member James Ruby.

"That's a good question. Whose job is it going to be to re-set these alarms?" noted Hillman.

They don't think courthouse employees will hold a door open for strangers, but think there would be nothing to stop others from holding a door open.

"Those doors have cameras," said Merriman, who added, "I think it will be a nightmare."

Hillman and Committee member Judy Vincent think employees will stop using the side doors if the alarms keep going off.

"I think it will be a pain in the butt," commented Committee member James Ruby.

The committee directed Hillman to determine the total number of doors and the cost for alarms, and bring the information to the finance committee.

In other business, they moved to send the issue of privacy partitions in the three men's restrooms to the finance committee.

Building & Grounds Supervisor Steve Kelke got prices for partitions after Russell complained people who are standing by the restroom can see into the bathrooms when the doors open.

The nearly $830 will have to come out of the contingency fund.