The Virginian-Pilot 
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, September 9, 1995            TAG: 9509090286
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                         LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

CHESAPEAKE LEADERS COUNTER THEIR FEARS CITY HALL WILL TIGHTEN SECURITY ON THE SIXTH FLOOR AT A COST OF $7,000 TO $10,000

It began in 1988 with a 30-foot slab of armor inside the City Council dais, meant to protect members from bullets - at least from the waist down.

With it came a private elevator, leading from a secure parking lot directly to the City Hall's inner sanctum.

Now, the latest security measure is coming to Chesapeake's top officials and their staffs.

At a cost of $7,000 to $10,000, the city is planning to install a security counter blocking off the area that leads to the sixth-floor offices of the mayor, council members and the city clerk.

It will feature an electronic lock to be controlled by city staff members, who will have to clear citizens before they can enter. Most of the cost will come from matching the counter to the floor's opulent woodwork, according to Chesapeake Buildings Superintendent Jim Crowley.

The reason for the outlay? City officials invoked everything from local malcontents to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

``It's so easy to just walk in here and roam around,'' said City Clerk Dolores A. Moore. ``We get some very angry people in here sometimes, and they are demanding to see the mayor. They don't understand that this is a business and there's a certain way to do things.''

Moore said the city has been planning the 4-foot-high counter for more than a year, but did not know when construction would begin on it. Masking tape on the floor marked its location this week.

Mayor William E. Ward, whose office is most vulnerable in the present layout, cited increasing acts of violence nationwide against government.

``Have you heard of Oklahoma City? Ruby Ridge?'' Ward said, referring to two now-famous symbols of the growing conflict between agencies and militants who believe government has overstepped its bounds.

``Now that there isn't any Cold War or communist threat to turn our anger toward,'' Ward said, ``we are turning it in on ourselves, and on our government. You can't be too careful.''

KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CITY HALL by CNB