After holding discussions around hiring a deputy to man the reception desk at the county office building, Geauga County Commissioners created the resource officer position Feb. 23.
After holding discussions around hiring a deputy to man the reception desk at the county office building, Geauga County Commissioners created the resource officer position Feb. 23.
Commissioners approved a request for the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office to establish a building security position.
“I talked with the sheriff and (Chief Deputy Tom Rowan) about a plan about how we are going to do this going forward,” said County Administrator Gerry Morgan. “We are looking for the commissioners to authorize the sheriff’s office to create a deputy position at the front desk for security purposes.”
The officer will be on duty from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for a maximum amount of 50 hours per week with an amount not to exceed $150,000 per year.
Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand and Rowan appeared before commissioners to share the plans for the position.
“We’ve got to get access to the building, get a phone down there, a computer and that kind of stuff,” Hildenbrand said. “Then, we talked about having a calendar for the building of what’s going on. That’s going to be the first place somebody goes and is going to ask where’s this meeting? Where’s that? I think it’ll be good.”
Rowan added, “Every room that is reserved for something, we know what it’s being reserved for so it’s keeping that up to date.”
County Clerk Christine Blair said the maintenance department handles the calendar for the scheduling of the conference rooms.
“That calendar is accessible on their website for scheduling purposes. The only thing that is not included in that is the commissioners’ conference room,” Blair said.
Commissioner Jim Dvorak said he feels safer with a resource officer in the building, which holds 240 employees.
“We have a lot of foot traffic since we combined all of the departments that are here,” he said. “It’s going to be a great thing.”
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Brian Doering/KMG
From left, Geauga County Commissioners Ralph Spidalieri, Jim Dvorak and Tim Lennon create a resource officer position for the Geauga County Office Building Feb. 23.
