PORT TOWNSEND — Tightened security at the Jefferson County Courthouse will be eased today as discussion is renewed about security issues and how to fund proposed improvements.
The courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend will continue today to funnel access through a single entrance — the door on Cass Street — but a walk through a metal detector will no longer be required, according to a memo released late Wednesday by County Administrator Philip Morley after a meeting with Sheriff David Stanko.
Closing two of the three entrances and using a metal detector was done at the courthouse Tuesday after a verbal threat was reported to police at about 9 p.m. Monday.
A clerk at Penny Saver Mart, 2140 E. Sims Way, told Port Townsend police that a man approached her as she was leaving work and said he intended to go to the courthouse, shoot everyone there and then shoot himself, Jefferson County Undersheriff Joe Nole said Tuesday.
The man was described as heavy-set and in his mid-30s with short blond hair and wearing a trench coat.
As of Wednesday afternoon, he had not been identified.
Police believe he was most likely a transient, according to Morley.
A security audit report has proposed safety changes that would cost “several million dollars,” according to Frank Gifford, the county’s central services director.
The proposals have not been funded.
“When we make these improvements, we have to work out where the funding will come from and the additional staff it will require for them to operate,” Gifford said.
Noted Superior Court Clerk Ruth Gordon: “All of the counties in the state are working with inadequate security because counties don’t have enough money.
“We don’t have any capital funds set aside, and security comes from capital funds,” she added.
This is the second threat in eight months.
An anonymous threat about people who reportedly intended to bring explosives to the courthouse that was received Aug. 21 prompted a similar reaction.
Police did not find a credible threat and reopened the courthouse as usual the next day.
County officials commissioned a security audit from KMD Architects of San Francisco that studied the building, what measures would be needed to effect safe changes and their cost.
The report is in draft form and is being circulated among department heads to collect their input, Gifford said this week.
The finished draft report will most likely be presented to the county commissioners within the next three months, he said.
Gifford would not release the report or disclose the costs of the proposed renovations, which he said would be implemented over time.
During the proposed first phase, the front and back entrances to the courthouse would be closed except to transport prisoners, and a screening mechanism would be installed at the Cass Street door.
The second phase, which could cost up to $2 million, would include fencing the back parking lot and installing keypad access, building a fence around the courthouse perimeter and building barriers to prevent the driving of a car into the courthouse building.
While developing the plan, the county will need to discuss the best long-term investment, Gifford said.
“Down the road, we will have to determine whether it will be better to save the capital dollars for the construction of a proper law and justice facility,” Gifford said.
“It is very difficult to add security to a historic courthouse,” he said.
The courthouse, built in 1892, has four stories: a basement housing the commissioners’ offices, a first floor with county departments and upper floors devoted to law and justice.
While security is necessary for all offices, Gifford said, the upper floors warrant the most protection because of the nature of the law and the courts.
“Is this a safe workplace? Probably not,” said Gordon, whose office is next to the Superior Court.
“But what can you do to be safe in a culture that doesn’t take care of its mentally ill?”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
