In February, Sheriff Frank Rivero went to the Board of Supervisors with his concerns, suggesting that he didn't believe the Lake County Superior Court's Lakeport division, located on the fourth floor of the county courthouse on N. Forbes Street in Lakeport, was safe enough, as Lake County News has reported.
He'd suggested to the board in February that either everyone entering the building needed to be screened or the screening equipment needed to be moved to the fourth floor.
However, earlier this month, the Judicial Council of California's Administrative Office of the Courts sent Rivero a report in which it said that the fourth floor screening proposal wouldn't work because of space and building codes.
“We recognize Sheriff Rivero’s concerns and desires and we are working to resolve those in a practical way,” said Philip Carrizosa, spokesperson for the Administrative Office of the Courts.
He added, “We do see some logistical problems in creating a security checkpoint on the fourth floor of the court because of the limited space available.”
Rivero said he disagrees with the state's findings. “I'm really concerned about this,” he said.
In May 2008 screening begin at the Lakeport courthouse after the Administrative Office of the Courts began exploring additional security procedures.
However, Rivero, who took office in January, has maintained that the building remains “porous,” since county employees can come and go without being screened, and many side doors are not secured.
He took that argument in February to the Board of Supervisors, which urged him to meet with state officials.
At the same time, board members did not indicate support for screening everyone, which mirrored the stance taken by county department heads in a meeting earlier this year.
Since then, Rivero met with Malcolm Franklin, senior manager for the Administrative Office of the Courts' Office of Emergency Response and Security, and Lake County Superior Court Chief Executive Officer Mary Smith to discuss his concerns.
On April 4 Franklin sent Rivero a two-page letter with an accompanying 14-page report relating to the Administrative Office of the Courts' initial review of Rivero's recommendations.
Franklin said that it didn't appear possible to relocate the equipment “in the standard configuration” to the fourth floor.
Further, Franklin said an engineer cited building codes that would prevent a redesign of the screening system on the fourth floor location.
“If you feel that we are in error, or that another suitable rearrangement of the screening equipment may facilitate the move, we will be more than happy to revisit your request,” Franklin wrote.
Franklin said Rivero's recommendation of using a single elevator to access the fourth floor concerned some staff who were involved in the review.
“The elevators are small, and eliminating one from service may well cause delays in moving people up through the facility,” Franklin said. “In addition, should the primary fourth floor elevator car become disabled, there would not be a backup system.”
He said if they can't resolve the plan, the state is willing to work with Rivero and his team “to look at alternative measures to increase security within the courthouse in other ways.”
Rivero, who said he has sent numerous letters to Franklin about his concerns, disagreed with Franklin's findings.
The sheriff said he's the one who is responsible for providing security for the courts and the judges. Rivero said he asked Franklin to give him a letter absolving him of that responsibility if the state wouldn't assist him with improving security.
“He looked at me like I was crazy,” Rivero said.
Carrizosa pointed out that a new courthouse is being built in Lakeport. “We plan to start construction in the fall of 2012 and complete the project in mid-2014.”
Carrizosa said the new courthouse will have all the necessary security checkpoint.
But Rivero said waiting until 2014 is too long.
He suggested that the issue comes down to the state not wanting to spend extra money on the current courthouse.
“What price are you willing to put on the life of a Lake County Superior Court judge?” Rivero asked. “If you don't want to spend the money, that's the question you need to be willing to ask yourself.”
District Attorney Don Anderson said he also has security concerns about the current courthouse, which went into service in the late 1960s.
He said the building's layout makes it very difficult to provide security. “It's a tough job.”
As for moving the screening equipment to the fourth floor, Anderson said he understood what Rivero was proposing, but agreed that it wouldn't work because of the building codes, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act access issues.
“I was very confident that the state would not allow it to happen,” Anderson said.
Smith said no further meetings with the Administrative Office of the Courts and Rivero are scheduled at this time.
Rivero, however, said he's trying to arrange a meeting with the department heads of county Public Services and Community Development and with County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox to discuss alternative ideas.
“I know we can work this out,” he said. “There is nothing fatal to this plan.”
Rivero said he's assigned Lt. Chris Macedo, who oversees the bailiffs, the task of also considering how to improve the building's safety.
“It's a high priority,” Rivero said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
