Lauderdale County supervisors moved forward Monday with two long-standing issues related to the new government center. The Board of Supervisors voted to move forward with plans to add a public access door to the circuit clerk’s office and get pricing on adding handicap parking spots on both the front and back sides of the building.

In a 3-1-1 vote, which saw Supervisor Craig Houston vote no and Supervisor Joe Norwood Sr. abstain, the board voted to spend $55,000 for the installation of a dutch door for the circuit clerk’s office and an additional $3,000 for the association electrical work.

The need for a public access door was brought to the board’s attention earlier this year by election commissioners concerned about the security of absentee voting. The security-focused design of the new courthouse space separates the public from county offices by bullet proof glass and electronic access doors, which, while helpful for keeping county employees safe, lacks a secure place for public to vote via absentee.

Election commissioners explained setting up the voting machines in the public hallway does not meet the requirements for a secure voting place, and the public would need access to the circuit clerk’s office.

Supervisor J.J. Anders said he had spoken with Circuit Clerk Donna Jill Johnson and her staff about the proposed dutch door, and she had said the plan will satisfy her requirements. Anders, who made the motion to move forward with the project, said he also wants to give the election commission the circuit clerk’s office in the old courthouse, now Lauderdale County Archives and History, for storage of voting equipment.

Storage of voting equipment has been another ongoing problem the board has been working to resolve as the county works to fully move out of the Raymond P. Davis Annex. Election commissioners had an entire floor of the annex to use for storage and workspace as needed.

Supervisor Kyle Rutledge said the space in the old courthouse will likely need some work before the election commission can move in. The area will need to be painted, he said, and it likely needs new flooring as well.

Supervisor Craig Houston said his concern is the potential appearance of irregularities in the election process with the commission operating from two different buildings. Having poll workers collect ballots from one place and return them to another could be used as justification to challenge election results in the event of a close race, he said.

Handicap Parking

Supervisors are also moving forward with plans to get pricing on two options to expand handicap parking and accessibility at the new government center. The board is split between two options, including adding additional handicap spaces between the courthouse and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office or adding additional handicap spots to the rear parking area and opening the back door for public access.

Currently, public entry into the courthouse is from the front only, but supervisors are debating whether to open a second entrance at the rear of the building, which is currently for employees only. Original designs for the building had all rear parking gated, but the design was changed during construction. That has created confusion with members of the public who park in back but can’t enter through the back door.

Supervisors Houston and Rutledge are in favor of adding additional handicap parking spaces to the rear parking lot and opening the rear door to the public. Those handicap spaces are much closer to the building than out front, they explained, and only slight modifications are needed to make their plan work.

The concern with the plan, however, is the courthouse’s security. The security plan was developed based on the public coming in from the front entrance only, and adding a second entryway, which is not in sight of the security desk, could present a security problem.

Supervisors Norwood and Josh Todd want the additional handicap parking to be near the front of the building, between the courthouse and the sheriff’s department. The handicap ramps are in the front, they said, and keeping the front-only entry will help with security.

The downsides to the plan include destroying some of the landscaping and that visitors would still need to walk most of the length of the building to purchase car tags and make tax payments if the front-entry approach is maintained.

Road Manager Rush Mayatt said the first step in getting pricing will have to be getting with LPK Architects, which designed the courthouse, to draw up some rough plans about what transforming each site will include. Those plans will help contractors know what the projects entail and give accurate numbers to help the board make its decision.