Following an increase to security screenings at the Lincoln County Courthouse, Sheriff Todd Brackett is looking into options and policy for a separate entrance for county personnel and other people who use the courthouse regularly.
Brackett brought the matter before the county commissioners at their meeting on Nov. 6.
One part of the issue is that some people, including county and state staff, come in and out of the courthouse several times each day, Brackett said. He questioned whether they should be screened each time.
Problems also arise when people are waiting in line to be screened, and others are allowed to pass through without being screened, Brackett said.
Bypass at the screening point is also impractical due to spacial reasons, because the entrances to the courthouse were not laid out with screenings in mind, Brackett said.
Other courthouses sometimes have a second employee or staff entrance to alleviate those problems, Brackett said. He suggested using one of the two doors that open onto the courthouse’s patio.
Brackett suggested a punch-code system for the door, but Commissioner William Blodgett inquired about a card scanner system similar to the one in place at Lincoln County Communications.
County Administrator John O’Connell said he would be fine with the punch-code system to start with, and possibly upgrading to a more advanced system. “This is all better than we currently have, let’s be honest,” he said.
Brackett said he will also be moving the screening point to the door nearest the deeds office for a week to see if the flow improves.
In other business, Brackett informed the commissioners that the Maine Criminal Justice Academy was requesting Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy, Sgt. Jason Nein to work as an instructor for an 18-week course starting in Jan. 2013.
The academy is offering $12,000 in reimbursement for Nein’s time, Brackett said.
Commissioner Sheridan Bond said it was surprising the academy doesn’t offer some sort of a credit for the difference in Nein’s pay and their reimbursement. The credit could be used for future officers sent to the academy, Bond said.
Brackett said that subject has been broached before and could be brought up again. The academy does give preferential treatment to departments that send instructors, such as securing spots for officers in the academy even if there are no vacancies, Brackett said.
“One again we’re helping fund the police academy and if they’re that eager to have Jason, they need to pay for Jason,” Commissioner Lynn (Orne) Martin said. Martin said she was not in support of sending Nein as an instructor.
Emergency Management Agency Tod Hartung reported to the commissioners that Tropical Storm Sandy “wasn’t as dramatic as…it had the potential to be.”
Hartung said there was only a slight increase in calls for service through Lincoln County Communications during the storm.
Commissioners approved a request from Maintenance Supervisor Jim Hopler to have a malfunctioning solenoid valve replaced in the generator for the LCC building.
The fix will cost $2853 plus around $700-800 in labor to balance the system, Hopler said.
