RED LODGE – Carbon County continues to grow, and with it is the need for more space at the courthouse.
The building is historic, built in 1899, and it houses justice and district courts, the sheriff’s office, the county attorney’s office, and the dispatch center.
However, space is starting to get limited, according to Sheriff Josh McQuillan, as the county continues to grow.
Last spring, the county spent $200,000 to expand the building with a new dispatch center and an officer sally port.
In May 2018, dispatchers moved into the new center.
“It’s a lot better for security,” said dispatcher Christi Brenna.
Brenna has been a dispatcher in Carbon County for three years and believes the new dispatcher center is safer than the previous one.
“I think for security reasons it wasn’t up to par. So here it’s a lot better for security. It’s clean, it’s fresh, it’s new and so it’s a good thing,” said Brenna.
The safety element is important for officers too, said McQuillan. He said the sally port gives officers transporting prisoners more security.
However, he said it’s just a short-term fix.
McQuillan said the county is taking a hard look at infrastructure needs in the future, which he said is a top priority.
Reporting by Andrea Lutz for MTN News
