The Pulaski County Courthouse’s new single point of entry is creating confusion for visitors. For the past month, all visitors have had to use the basement entrance underneath the stairs facing Market Street, on the west side of the building.
County Clerk JoLynn Behny told the county commissioners Monday that she’s been getting a lot of complaints. “Every single person who walks in my office is complaining about it, ‘I walked around the building two times. I got lost. It took me forever to get in here,'” Behny said.
The commissioners pointed out that the change has been covered by local media, but Behny noted that many courthouse visitors are not from the area. “Think about the people who come in to pay a speeding ticket,” she said. “They’re not from here. They show up this one time in our courthouse to pay a speeding ticket. They’re not going to know.”
Signs posted outside the courthouse apparently haven’t been helpful. To see the notices on the exterior doors, visitors have to climb a number of stairs only to find out that the doors are locked. Freestanding signs have been placed at the bottom of the outside entrance stairs, but the wind has been blowing them over.
Behny felt that the county should make sure the courthouse is easy for visitors to use. But with the commissioners looking at adding a security checkpoint and the renovation plan calling for a single point of entry, Commissioner Jerry Locke was not in favor of changing the current setup. “Eventually, it’s going to be single point of entry, regardless, when we get security,” Locke said. “At this time, I don’t want to take that single point of entry away. Our next joint meeting, we’re going to be talking about this security, how to finance and this and that, and then we’d have to put it back into effect? I think the people’s going to have to give a little bit.”
Behny said she wanted to be part of the discussion on security needs that will be taking place with Sheriff Jeff Richwine and the two judges before next month’s joint council and commissioners meeting. In the meantime, the commissioners asked Maintenance Director Mia Salyers to improve the signage directing visitors to the remaining entrance. They suggested placing chains across the stairways to the closed entrances and attaching signs directly to the railings.
