Efforts to improve the level of security at Bel Air Town Hall are picking up speed, as town leaders viewed plans Tuesday evening to create a more secure main entrance and reception areas for the finance and administration offices.
Town Administrator Jesse Bane said the upgrades are necessary, "given the state of society today and things that are going on and security being a main concern."
"We need to make sure that the commissioners are comfortable with this, because it is going to be a change in the way things happen when the public walks into Town Hall," Bane said during a commissioners' work session.
Security improvements at town hall have been a topic of discussion among the town commissioners in recent years.
The building at 39 N. Hickory Ave., which houses town government offices and the Bel Air Police Department headquarters, was built in 1964 and has open access to the commissioners' meeting rooms, as well as the finance and administrative offices, from the main entrance off Hickory Avenue.
Public access to the Police Department is much more controlled, with a secure vestibule at the main entrance off Lee Way. Doors leading to police facilities from the commissioners' meeting room can only be opened by an electronic key card.
Similar controlled-access points have been designed for town offices, according to plans presented during the work session by Ellen Jenkins and Ted Jasinski, of the Bel Air architectural and engineering firm Frederick Ward Associates.
"Our top concerns and challenges were maintaining safe egress from the building and also balancing security with a feeling of welcomeness that you expect when you, as a citizen, come into your town hall," said Jenkins, a senior project architect.
Jasinski is the firm's vice president of architecture.
The proposed security improvements include putting another entrance in front of the existing recessed front door off Hickory Avenue, to create a vestibule that visitors would walk through before coming into the main meeting room – Jasinski described it as an "air lock."
Visitors can walk, during business hours, through open doors to conduct business at the administrative and finance offices. They will not be able to do that once the upgrades are complete, though. Visitors will interact with town staff who are behind glass panes with sliding windows. Doors that can be opened with a key fob will be installed for employee access only.
Jenkins stressed the commissioners' main meeting room and their side conference room will remain open to the public.
She noted the glass panels will be made of tempered glass, the same type of glass used in car windshields.
Commissioner Phil Einhorn asked if designers had considered bulletproof glass.
Jenkins said bulletproof glass would create "a substantial difference in cost," and it cannot be cleaned with standard cleaning products.
Jasinski said tempered glass costs a few dollars per square foot, compared to at least $15 to $20 per square foot for bulletproof glass.
Einhorn noted the stronger material would be "a one-time expense."
"I'm thinking of protecting the people that are working in there," he said.
Other commissioners and town officials did not express support for bulletproof glass, though.
Police Chief Chuck Moore said the material is only rated to protect against rounds fired from small-caliber guns.
"The assault rifles, they'll still go through it," he said.
Bane said $20,000 has been budgeted for the security improvements. A final cost has not been determined yet, but Bane said he expects it will be slightly more than $20,000.
"I think $20,000 is a good figure to at least get the interior work done," he said.
Michael Krantz, director of administration, said a request for bids will be issued.
"The cost of the renovations will determine how quickly [the project] goes forward," Krantz said.
He and Bane expect the renovations will be completed during the current fiscal year – Bane said he hopes to finish by October, but the middle of the year, around December, is a more likely time.