Report to the 2007 General Assembly

Legislative Report 7

Title: Security and Renovation Proposal for Washington District Court

Security Proposal for Washington District Court

In accordance with provisions of Act 147 Section 39 of the Acts of the Vermont Legislature, the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services herewith propose security renovations for the Washington District Court.

Background:

During the past year, a number of security incidents at the Washington District Court prompted a review of the security protocols, as well as an assessment of security renovations to be recommended jointly by BGS and Courts.
Notable findings include:

1. A Security awareness training program should be developed for all state employees.
2. All building employees should enter a single restricted entrance before and after hours.  This will eventually be converted to the ProWatch card access system for ease of flow.
3. Security checkpoint should be moved from the entrance to the courthouse itself into the common vestibule of the building.  This will ensure that all visitors will have to pass the screening point.
4. Appropriate metal detection devices and x-ray machines should be installed at the entrance Security checkpoint.
5. All visitors to the building should enter through one restricted entrance. Exceptions will be made to assist handicapped individuals entering into the building.
6. Court security detail will move from the court entrance to the Security checkpoint to assist immediately in the entry screening process.  The visibility of these officers will help to deter further incidents.

In an effort to address the immediate and on-going threats to the building, the decision was made to make changes that could be made with minimal cost and disruption to the building.  The first step was to move the court’s manned screening checkpoint to the vestibule of the building.  This was seen as a temporary fix until renovations could be recommended.  It was noted that with the restrictions of the mechanical rooms and elevators a simple build-out would not be possible.  The vestibule area cannot comfortably hold the security equipment and personnel to run an effective security checkpoint.  The current configuration also does not allow for inclement weather affecting personnel, equipment, and the staging of visitors coming into the building.  Our recommendation is a small addition to the entrance to better address the security needs of the building.

Funding:

The following is an estimate for the proposed project at the Washington District Court & State Office Building for the addition to the existing courthouse vestibule, which would house a new lobby area to accommodate security equipment and a public queuing area.  The gross square footage required is preliminary and will need to be determined through conceptual studies.  At this time a budget of $100, 000 is proposed for a 20’ x 25’, 500 gross square foot addition.  Significant site work will be required to accommodate ADA accessibility requirement in front of the new addition; the existing plaza area will need to be reconstructed at a preliminary estimate of $30,000.  The project total is $130,000.  Since this estimate is preliminary, a 20% contingency has been added to the overall project cost.  The sum total preliminary cost estimate for this project is $205,700. 
Currently a temporary canvas canopy structure is being fabricated to aid as weather break and outside queuing area for the public. The canopy cost is $7,000 plus miscellaneous electrical.