BOISE, Idaho —
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
The city of Boise is soon going to upgrade its security at City Hall.
Public Works on Tuesday requested $550,000 in one-time funds for the “City Hall Security Project,” which involves replacing basement garage doors and installing new doors that allow access control during business hours, according to a staff report on the project.
City Council approved the request, along with four other interim budget changes, at a work session with no discussion.
The basement garage doors would be replaced with doors at street-level, “to prevent unauthorized access under the building,” the report said. The annex garage door would also be replaced.
The new doors would not be open during the work day, which is how they currently operate, the report said.
“This project would significantly improve security by mitigating known security vulnerabilities,” the project description states.
These upgrades have been in the works for some time, city spokesperson Maria Weeg said, because the garage doors were nearing the end of their lifespan.
"Our security and facilities teams worked together to identify updates to the doors that meet security industry standards regarding seats of government," Weeg said in an email.
The money for these upgrades would come from the Public Works major repairs and maintenance budget for facilities and from a canceled Human Resources project. The canceled project was to upgrade badge readers, but supply chain disruptions resulted in an inability to order equipment needed for it, city Budget Manager Eric Bilimoria said at the meeting.
Weeg said that no specific security threat is driving the timing of this project.
However, city officials have been facing a rise in threats and harassment, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said in a statement released in March. In the statement, she announced that security detail would be provided at City Hall, the Idaho Press previously reported. She also said threats and intimidation had extended to her children.
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
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