THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509080231
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
In a move it says will boost security for Chesapeake's top officials and their staffs, the city is planning to build a barrier at the entrance to the sixth-floor offices that house the mayor, City Council members and the city clerk.
The four-foot-high counter, designed to block visitors until staff members can open an electronic entrance to let them in, will cost between $7,000 and $10,000, according to Buildings Superintendent Jim Crowley.
The preliminary outlines of the structure are already visible at the entrance to the top-floor offices, where masking tape has been placed in squares along the carpet and walls tracing its shape.
Mayor William E. Ward said the gate would allay security concerns over complaining residents, who often insist on taking their problems directly to the top.
``People come marching in here with a problem,'' Ward said, ``and they want to see the mayor. But I might not be the person who can solve the problem the most efficiently.''
Ward said incidents of violence, such as the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, demonstrate a heightened sense of anger that citizens have toward government in general. With the open space leading from the door to his own office, he said, there is no way to check against potential security threats.
``This is a violent society,'' Ward said. ``And right now, we are turned in on ourselves with a lot of that violence.''
Other staff members who are the first to greet visitors agreed with concerns about security.
``I don't think we can be too careful these days,'' said Deputy City Clerk Libby Pearsall. ``People can easily just roam around without us knowing, it's so open.''
Much of the problem, Pearsall said, comes when more than one secretary is on the phone at a time, and no one is left to attend to visitors who demand attention for a problem, but are unsure where to go.
City Clerk Delores A. Moore said the situation sometimes has led the staff to take drastic measures to maintain order.
``With some people,'' Moore said, ``it gets to where I practically have to tackle them to stop them from going wherever they want.''
Moore said the new security counter will bring the top floor of City Hall in line with other offices throughout the building, which have a front desk to greet citizens.
But those other offices do not have electric locks to regulate who goes in or out.
Crowley said much of the expense for the barrier will come from the elaborate mill and cabinetry work required to make it match existing woodwork.
The counter will have a handle on the inside for staff and city officials who want to leave. The facility also will meet regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and will come equipped with a safety device that unlocks the gate automatically in case of an emergency.
City officials said they were unsure when construction will begin. by CNB