CLEVELAND, Tenn. — A security firm is donating its time today to assess public safety needs at the Bradley County Courthouse.
Last week, some local judges expressed security concerns about the courthouse and called on the county to beef up building safety, including doubling the number of courthouse officers to six and considering a restrictive gate to the basement garage.
County Mayor D. Gary Davis said Monday that courthouse keys are secured through his office. A contact person for any group that meets after hours in the courthouse must check out a key and return it the next day, he said.
Those keys are not capable of being duplicated and are made by an out-of-town locksmith, he said. Only an employee in the mayor’s office is authorized to order keys, he said.
“There are numerous meetings in the courthouse. To have a meeting in the courthouse, you’ve got to have an employee involved or check out a key. So it’s already limited,” Mr. Davis said.
He said he is open to any additional ideas from commissioners.
The judges were concerned that the courthouse is open to provide access to public restrooms during downtown events such as the monthly Cruise-Ins from April through October or the Cleveland Apple Festival in October.
Commissioners discussed whether the policy might be changed so that only events inside the courthouse have access to the restrooms.
“The biggest thing is we wanted the mayor to have control of the keys,” said Commissioner Howard Thompson.
Other courthouse officials stopped issuing keys themselves some time ago, Mr. Davis said.
But the doors are unlocked during any after-hours meeting, including the County Commission, he said.
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