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District court buildings to undergo security upgrades

County gets grant to install bullet-resistant glass at facilities

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County will continue to upgrade security measures at district court buildings with money being provided by the state Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

The county previously received state AOPC money to install bullet-resistant glass at the district court buildings now used by Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller in Tyrone and by Magisterial District Judge Ben Jones in Altoona.

AOPC is now making additional money available for security upgrades, Blair County Court Administrator Janice Meadows told commissioners this week.

With the expected new funding, commissioners agreed to purchase and install:

n Bullet-resistant glass in the service window in the district court used by Magisterial District Judge Andrew Blattenburger inside a portion of the Altoona-Blair County Airport terminal building. The estimated cost is $6,200 based on a quote provided by Glass Mender Mirror & Plate Division Inc.

Bullet-resistant glass within the entrance foyer of the county’s cost and fines office at the courthouse. The cost is estimated at $6,026 based on a quote from Allegheny Glass and Mirror.

Security cameras and associated power supplies for the parking lots at the district court buildings used by Miller and Jones. The cost was identified at $1,614 for each building.

Outdoor lighting, associated wiring and related materials for the district court building now used by Jones. Friedman Electric provided the low quote for materials at almost $900, and Krater Services LLC will handle the outside electrical installation work, including permitting, at an amount not to exceed $1,100.

Commissioners endorsed the proposed upgrades as a way to make those areas safer. AOPC was been pursuing this effort and is covering costs, commissioners Chair­man Bruce Erb said.

“All you would need is just one incident to prove the need for this,” Commissioner Ted Beam Jr. said. “I don’t think you can ever skimp on safety.”

AOPC has been making money available for security improvements for several years. Online records show Monroe County secured money in 2015 from AOPC to install bullet-resistant glass at a district court building. That was three years before the September 2018 shooting at a district court office in Fayette County where police shot and killed a man who entered court with a gun and opened fire, injuring four people.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.

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