The board of supervisors is set to take up a measure Tuesday addressing the “inadequate level of security” at the new courthouse on Fourth and Monterey streets, according to the meeting agenda.
In November, the board voted to appeal to the state for additional funds to pay for new security personnel at the courthouse scheduled to open in January – funds that were not assured from the state when it agreed to help pay for the $32 million complex. The county expects a need to hire at least three additional security guards for the new facility, costing $400,000 in 2014.
Without the additional funds, the county may have to delay opening the courthouse doors when it is finished.
The board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the County Administration Building, 481 Fourth St.
In addition to the courthouse matter, the board will also receive an update on the Highway 156 Improvement Project.
In 2008, Caltrans approved an environmental impact report for the project. The plan would expand Highway 156 – from San Juan Bautista to a point near Hollister – into a four-lane, at-grade expressway. The cost of the project is estimated to be $47.2 million and will receive both county and state funding. In October, the Council of San Benito County Governments agreed to add two more years of planning to the project and is weighing an alternate route.
