Talks around Brown County Courthouse security resumes as pandemic restrictions lift

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - With Covid restrictions loosening and government buildings opening back up to the public, Brown County leaders are once again looking at security at the courthouse.

“I believe there are like 7 different entrances to this building, so people can go in and out and it’s hard to monitor that,” said Brown County Supervisor for District 26 Keith Deneys.

One good thing that came from the Covid-19 pandemic, it forced people to come and go through one door at the Brown County Courthouse.

An idea Brown County supervisors support.

“The committees did pass a recommendation Tuesday night to keep this building at one entrance, which in my mind speaks to the point that we’re looking for a secure entrance here in future,” said Deneys.

The county has looked at building a secure addition on the Walnut Street side for years which would cost upwards of $2 million, but plans could change as there’s more issues that need to be addressed.

“We have an aging downtown jail. Other issues, the county is growing, there may be a time where we need additional circuit court judges and certainly, we need more secure courtrooms, because currently in brown county we only have two that are completely secure,” said Sheriff Todd Delain.

The pandemic also highlighted the need for space in the courthouse.

“Through Covid, we learned that jury selection rooms are important and having more space to do that would be good,” said Delain.

Now, a committee of supervisors has been formed to take a closer look at the needs of the courthouse.

Made more difficult by the fact that it’s a historic site, limiting the changes that can be made to the inside and outside of the building.

“It’s really just important that we keep it moving forward and we kind of get a timeline so that everyone understands where we’re going and when we plan on getting there,” said the Sheriff.

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