Security concerns for staff led the county’s public property committee to agree Jan. 15 to lock the south doors of the courthouse three hours earlier each evening.
Currently, doors on the east and north sides of the buildings are locked at the end of the business day (4:30 p.m.), and the doors on the south end are locked at 9 p.m. Now, those southern doors will be locked at 6 p.m.
“With the changes that we’ve made in our custodial staff, there’s often times where we have one female custodian on site after hours,” said Julie Hasser, interim administrative coordinator and human resources director.
The outsourced cleaning crew comes and goes at different hours.
Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judge William Kussel Jr. suggested a new option for the safety of all staff working after normal business hours.
“Knowing that that door is open until 9, it just gives an unsettling feeling for the staff that are here,” Hasser said.
In conversations with Ethan Schmidt, clerk of courts, he informed her the courthouse doors must be open if there is a jury trial in progress in the evening.
“The chances that Shawano County has a jury trial where the jurors and the attorneys are here past 6 o’clock is very few and far between,” Hasser said. “If that were to happen, we would know ahead of time that we could allow the doors to be open at that time.”
Tami Goers, UW Extension coordinator, agreed with the early closure but questioned what would happen when meetings are held in the building after hours, specifically 4-H meetings.
Hasser and Nick Hesse, facilities management director, said they could work through those situations, either with a guest key card for access or other procedure.
“I’ve been here after hours, and I feel that safety thing, too,” Goers said. “I’m not against having the doors locked, because there’s times when I’m working late to attend a meeting, and you’re like, ‘Oh, those doors are open. Who knows who’s in the bathroom when I walk down there?’ They could be hiding in the restroom and waiting for the next day.”
Matt Hietpas, technology services director, agreed with Goers.
“I think security-wise, now that we only have one person in the building, I feel that is a security issue that we need to address.,” he said. “We have no clue who would be in here from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
