The historic Brown County Courthouse was built nearly 150 years ago and recent security upgrades — with more to come — will continue to extend its life for years to come, delaying the need to build a new justice center.
Last month, the Brown County Commissioners voted to approve an agreement with the firm DLZ for $47,500 to design two new security upgrades for the courthouse along with handling the bid process for the project.
The cost of the contract will be paid for using part of a $75,000 grant Judge Mary Wertz applied for, and received, through the Indiana Office of Court Services this year to build a new sally port, addressing security concerns in the historic building.
The courthouse could soon have a new, secured entrance on the east side of the building along with the separate sally port that will include an inmate entrance, holding cell and small storage area. It would be built on the north side of the building. DLZ estimates the total cost of both upgrades to be between $550,000 and $600,000, depending on construction bids, which could alter plans if they come in higher than projected.
In April, Wertz first told the commissioners about the grant to help meet security needs at the courthouse. At the June 1 meeting, Wertz said the sally port upgrade would address needs that have been recognized for “quite some time.”
Currently inmates who are transported to the courthouse from the Brown County jail for hearings enter the same door as the public and courthouse employees, which creates an “unacceptable security risk and is not compliant with courthouse security standards,” Wertz said.
Minimum courthouse security standards state that there should be a designated prisoner delivery area secured from the public, she continued.
“If there is a separate, secure entrance the security officer, transport officer and bailiff can better keep the inmate from interacting with the public, not only when entering the building, but as they make their way to the courtroom,” Wertz said in an email last week.
Although the court tries to use Zoom for hearings when possible, the Constitution requires trials and certain types of hearings happen in person.
This is especially an issue when there are juveniles transported to the courthouse from a detention facility for hearings in handcuffs and shackles.
“Juvenile cases are almost always closed to the public. Having a juvenile in custody entering though a public entrance exposes the child to the public as a child alleged to be delinquent,” Wertz said.
During jury trials jurors are prevented from seeing a defendant in custody and if they do see a defendant outside of the courtroom it could result in a mistrial.
“During a murder trial a few years ago, the defendant was let out of the transport vehicle at the light at the intersection of Main and Van Buren streets and escorted along the street into the west side entrance in order to avoid juror interaction,” Wertz said.
The courthouse does not have a holding cell for inmates, meaning defendants are housed in a small, first-floor stairwell during breaks. The space is less than 4 feet wide and there is no safe access to a restroom, which creates a security concern while not meeting the minimum standards.
All of these issues would be corrected with the new sally port, which would be built to the northside of the courthouse and extend out 15 feet, reaching the existing sidewalk there.
After receiving the grant, the commissioners asked Wertz to look and see if it would be feasible to also build a new secured entrance since construction will already be ongoing with the sally port.
Currently the court security officer and the courthouse metal detector are located within a hallway inside the courthouse instead of at the public entrance. This creates two security concerns, Wertz explained last month.
“First, the security officer cannot see people as they enter the building. There is no clear line of sight. Second, people are well into the building before they are screened. This creates a security risk not only for the security officer, but all who are in the building,” Wertz said.
She continued that a new security entrance on the east side of the courthouse would solve this “longstanding problem.” The new entrance would extend out 15 feet from the current entrance with windows on each side to help with the line of sight issue. No parking spots would be lost with the additions.
Sheriff Scott Southerland, Jail Commander Kenneth Moore and Bailiff Andy Reed helped assess the security needs at the courthouse. They approved an architect’s preliminary plans for the additions, which compliments the architecture of the original courthouse, Wertz said.
“Any additions will not touch the original courthouse, which was constructed in the 1870s. The security entrance would be adjacent to the 1930s addition on the east side of building and the separate inmate entrance and holding cell would be added to the north side of the building,” Wertz said.
“I recognize the cost of this project will be significant and I would not be asking if I did not think it was necessary to ensure that our historic courthouse is a safe place to conduct court business long into the future.”
Funding?
At the June 1 meeting, Wertz formally asked the commissioners to help cover the remaining cost of the security upgrades.
This is the second time Wertz has received grant funding for security upgrades through the Indiana Office of Court Services. In January 2020, the county received a $30,000 grant to fund security work at the courthouse, which was built in 1877.
That grant was to be used primarily to restrict public access in the court offices on the second floor and the probation office on the first floor. It was also used to relocate the jury room to the law library on the second floor and to convert the small meeting room into a juror restroom that is compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act.
The commissioners also used around $30,000 from a $2 million capital improvement loan the county took out in 2018 to help cover costs of the ADA-compliant juror restroom and a new ramp entrance to the court office that is also compliant with ADA. The ramp is located to the right of the courtroom now as visitors enter.
At the June meeting, Commissioner Diana Biddle said the county has $500,000 set aside in the first round of American Rescue Plan Act funding the county received last year that could be used to fund the project. That money was originally set aside to purchase the former Career Resource Center building for the new prosecutor’s office, but the commissioners ultimately decided not to pursue that purchase.
But Biddle said her “eyes and ears are always open” for other real estate options that could be the new prosecutor’s office. Commissioner President Jerry Pittman said he would like to see a new building built where the current office is now, but that would require closing the parking lot during construction.
The county is also expected to receive around $500,000 from a $507 million settlement with the Indiana Attorney General and drug companies to help those struggling with the opioid epidemic. Previously, the commissioners budgeted $100,000 in ARPA funding for a community mental health and addiction recovery project, but that can now be covered by the opioid settlement money and it frees up that money in ARPA to possibly cover the upgrades, Biddle said
Biddle said funding from the second round of ARPA, which is expected to come this summer, could also be used to cover the costs of the upgrades.
There was also $250,000 set aside in ARPA funding to replace a drain at the jail that Biddle said could also be used to help fund the security upgrades.
“We’re close to having the money to do it. We will not know until we get the construction bids,” Biddle said.
DLZ will be directed to draw up bid documents for three separate projects: the sally port; the secure entrance; and then both of them together. Wertz said if prices come in higher than expected she would want to prioritize a sally port over a new secure entrance.
“That is the greatest need that needs to be addressed,” she said.
Upgrades to the courthouse will also delay a need for a new justice center.
“You lose something when you lose your courthouse in the middle of town,” Wertz said about switching to a justice center.
She said the “absolutely necessary” security improvements at the courthouse will help extend its life for years to come.
In 2018, the county hired DLZ to make recommendations about how to fix space and accessibility needs related to the courthouse.
DLZ offered two suggestions: Move court offices to a new building that would be built next to the Brown County Law Enforcement Center, and move some county employees into the current courthouse after it is renovated.
The estimated cost — at that time, prior to recent increases in construction costs — for the 26,910-square-foot justice center was $6,750,000 and $7,250,000, plus 25 to 30% additional for “soft costs” like professional and financing fees and contingencies.
After approving the agreement, the commissioners were to send a proposal for the upgrades to DLZ and 45 days after that is received the firm will develop the documents for bidding out the project. Following another 45 days agreements will be in place for the project with a contractor selected. The start of the construction would then be determined by the hired contractor.
The extent of the upgrades will be finalized based on the bids from contractors.
