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- Security at county building needs to be improved
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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
A resident of Nephi told county commissioners that he thought there needed to be more security for the offices at the county building.
"After what is going on in the world and in America, Utah and Nephi, I think that the county building needs more security," said Leonard Trauntvein.
He was attending county commission meeting, he said, to urge the county commission to take steps now to provide the people working in the various offices in the county building the security they needed to make their jobs safer.
For example, he said, the treasurer's office, where taxes are collected, is wide open. There is a small swing-in gate on the one end but, where the safe is located, there is nothing to keep anyone from walking back to that area.
"In all the offices, there needs to be some parameters set," said Trauntvein. "For example, people need to sign in with their name, the time they are going in, their purpose for being in that office and the time they leave."
All offices should have some sort of remote control device that they could use to call for help. They could call the police department on the same block or could call the sheriff's office to receive fast assistance.
In addition, there needs to be some type of barriers to protect those working in each office, he said.
In the recorder's office, people can just walk into the records room. They can go in as a group. In the past, they have taken in food and drinks. Signs need to be posted to keep those visiting the office from doing that because the records are precious and a spill could spoil a piece of history.
At the county commission's meetings, said Trauntvein, he thinks that an officer should be present. Some citizens come in angry or get upset.
"There should be an officer at the back of the room," he said.
Rick Carlton, commissioner, said that the county had already started to take some steps toward making the building safer. The commission had started with the upstairs justice court area and had been working to make that area more secure.
After Fourth District Court moved to their own building, he said, the county commission had been seeing to it that modifications were being made to the upstairs area where the justice judge is located.
He said residents would begin to see some dramatic changes in the next year or so.
"We have met with the county officials to get their input, it just takes some planning and budgeting," said Carlton.
There were some things that could be done right away, said Trauntvein. For example, patrons using the offices should have to sign in.
If you go to see the county assessor, the employees at the front of the office ask you what you need to see him about before they let you go back.
Byron Woodland, commission chairman, said that he agreed that there were some steps that could be taken now to assure that the offices would have more safety.
Some of those changes would not need to cost much, he said.
Trauntvein suggested having an expert come in and walk through the building and make suggestions on ways to improve the security of the building.
Clinton Painter, commissioner, said the commission could have a consultant come in and give the commission some ideas of security measures that could be taken.
He also liked the idea of having a sign-in for patrons of the various offices in the county building, He said he had found it common practice in many offices.
Woodland said that a lot of places had bullet-proof windows installed between the customers and the office personnel. One government office he had visited in another community had such a setup.
After the district court had moved to their new location, there were few law enforcement officers who now walked through the hallways. Perhaps, those officers could be asked to do walk-throughs on a consistent basis.
"We would like to make some major changes to the building," said Woodland.
He said that they had been talking about ways to make the building more secure and were making future plans to do so.
"I am very concerned and I think there are things that could be done right away," he said. "Two years is a long time to wait to secure the offices."
Even the health department, upstairs, needed more security, he said. There was not an office in the county building that did not.
In the past, he said, threats had been made against public officials in this building and in other areas of Juab County. In this world, where violence happens with frequency, some plans that could be put into place soon would be a good idea.
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