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0 0 <br />Clerk's Jury Department Employee Barbara MacWilliam commented that she has <br />worked for the Clerk for 20 years and is in no way critical of the Vero Beach Police <br />Department who have been very helpful, as has the Sheriff's Department. She reminded the <br />Board that Judge Vocelle had brought this situation before the Board previously and now she <br />believes the situation is escalating as Vero Beach is growing. 90% of the employees at the <br />Courthouse are female and there are homeless persons sleeping in parking garage stairwells, <br />there are empty wine bottles and other trash left in the stairwells; and teenagers bring in <br />bicycles and skateboards. Employees begin arriving in the mornings at about 7:15 a.m. and <br />some do not leave until after dark. The employees feel the garage is very unsafe and some <br />of the employees park on the street and move their cars every 2 hours to avoid parking in the <br />garage. The employees feel that items can be repaired and cars can be fixed although these <br />items can cause severe financial hardship. However, physical injuries are another, more <br />serious, matter. A teenager recently fell out of a second story window in the garage. She <br />suggested the possibility of using volunteers, possibly in golf carts with radios to contact the <br />Courthouse staff for backup. She emphasized that the employees do not have the answers <br />but would certainly appreciate the Board's help to make everyone feel safer. <br />Chairman Tippin thanked Mrs. MacWilliam and expressed his view that this is a very <br />serious matter. He felt sad that such a beautiful facility in such a beautiful city should have <br />this problem and asked General Services Director Sonny Dean for his comments regarding <br />his research into the problem. <br />Director Dean advised that he spoke with Chief Gabbard of the Vero Beach Police <br />Department regarding organizing beefed up patrols for the garage and that the Sheriff has <br />also beefed up walk-throughs. The Police Department has apprehended the perpetrators of <br />the recent incidents and Chief Gabbard is here today with a report and a recommendation to <br />control the entrances to the garage. <br />Director Dean noted that right now anyone can get in all the way around the garage. <br />The cost of screening the access points would be about $23,000. He commended the City <br />Police Department for a very fine job and stated that Chief Gabbard has said he would try <br />to keep a patrol unit in that area at all times. <br />Vero Beach Police Chief Gabbard commented that everyone is concerned for the <br />safety of the people in the Courthouse and his Department is aware of what goes on in the <br />garage. He presented a computer printout indicating that over the last 24 months, the <br />Department had checked out the parking garage 2400 times. He noted that the City has had <br />FEBRUARY 24, 1998 <br />