New security measures were expected to be in place at the Freestone County Courthouse by the beginning of May 2018.
If you have been to the courthouse within the past couple of weeks, you will see that it has yet to take place.
After speaking with Freestone County Sheriff Jeremy Shipley on the matter, The “Times” has learned that there were some hiccups in the plans.
According to Sheriff Shipley, one thing that was not taken into account when planning to add keypads for employee entry to the east and west facing doors was the fact that there must also be push-bars on the inside of those doors for emergency exiting.
Because the building is historical, the county must also go through the Texas Historical Commission prior to complete the project.
“Though employee and public safety will obviously come before historical preservation, we still have to go through the process before making the changes,” explains Sheriff Shipley.
The county will also have to refigure costs to include the push-bars. Depending on the difference in the amount, the project may have to wait until the next budgeting period if there is not enough money in the current budget to cover the extra expenditure.
So for now, it’s business as usual.
