Republic file photo Columbus City Hall is shown in downtown Columbus.
The city of Columbus is planning to use a $126,322 state grant to increase security measures at some city buildings — including city hall, where officials hope to install a metal detector and several security cameras.
The Columbus City Council took a step toward acquiring the equipment, passing on first reading an ordinance that, among other things, would authorize the use of the funds to purchase the equipment. A second reading is required before the funds are fully approved.
Any money spent on the equipment will be reimbursed by Indiana Homeland Security as part of a grant the agency awarded the city in December, said city finance director Jamie Brinegar during the city council meeting Tuesday.
City officials plan to install a metal detector at the rear entrance to city hall on the south side of the building, as well as “a number of cameras inside and outside the facility” and on the “larger property.” Additionally, city officials hope to install cameras at the Evolution Training Center near Columbus Municipal Airport.
Columbus Police Chief Mike Richardson is working through how the metal detector would be staffed, city officials said.
The city added an additional police officer position during the 2020 budget process “knowing that this part was coming,” said Mary Ferdon, the city’s executive director of administration and community development.
Currently, it is unclear when the metal detector and cameras would be in place. Brinegar said they could be installed by June, but that depends on several factors, including the public bidding process and whether the equipment is in stock.
“Supplies are hard to come by right now,” Brinegar said.
City officials acknowledged during the meeting that the metal detectors would be “big change to the city hall facility” but said the increased security measures were not due to any incidents that had occurred locally.
“This is big change to the city hall facility,” Ferdon said. “City staff has been concerned about security for … employees and visitors, not in light of anything directly that has happened but just because of events in other communities.”
“We really believe that the time has come that we need to make the building more secure,” Ferdon said.
