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WALKER - Sheriff Tom Burch obtained county board approval Tuesday to spend up to $23,000 to improve security in the court areas of the original courthouse in Walker.

Gates will be placed to limit access to the north stairwell, which would automatically open in the event of a fire alarm.

Licensed peace officer bailiffs will monitor two locations where metal detectors will be located before people enter court areas rather than just one location. Two new, updated metal detectors will replace the existing single unit.

Primary public access to upper courthouse floors will be through the law enforcement center elevator or stairwell and will direct people through the metal detector locations.

Access to the county attorney's office will be through card controlled doors. The front legal secretary will communicate with the public through a phone system similar to the system used at the sheriff's office.

The county board accepted the lower of two quotes at $65,919.20 from Tierney Brothers to install new audio and video systems in courtrooms. Cass has one small ITV courtroom and one large and one medium size regular courtroom.

All three courtrooms will have assisted hearing updates. Audio updates will be made in the medium courtroom and both audio and video updates made in the large courtroom. The board approved a $2,000 contingency fund.

Central Services Director Tim Richardson told the board the extent of improvements is limited somewhat for the smallest and medium courtrooms by space for running cables and necessary equipment to upgrade video service.

The sheriff's department has received an $8,353.40 Minnesota Department of Public Safety grant to match $6,741.40 county money, so Sheriff Burch can purchase mobile printers and driver license readers for all county squad vehicles.

No longer will deputies carry ticket books. All traffic tickets will be printed from the deputy's front seat computer terminal.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Forest Service will pay the sheriff up to $9,700 for deputies' wages and use of vehicles to patrol the Chippewa National Forest in Cass County from May 1 through Sept. 30 this summer.

Deputies will respond to emergencies and check campgrounds, boat landings and picnic areas inside the Chippewa National Forest.

Four women and 88 men completed the Cass County Sentence to Service program in 2015. They worked off 384.9 jail days and $5,934 worth of court-ordered fines. They worked 7,305.5 hours. They mowed DNR public accesses and county building sites. They painted McKinley Town Hall, Cass Lake municipal building, Remer School playground and Cass County Jail.

They assisted with remodeling projects in county government buildings in Walker. They replaced the floor in the sheriff's pontoon boat used to install and remove boat channel markers.

They replaced the salt shed roof at the county's Pillager area county garage after the July 12 storm and helped several townships with tree removal after the storm.

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