No action taken on proposed courthouse cell phone ban

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners took their share of heat Tuesday for a plan to ban cell phones from the historic courthouse.
The reaction comes on the heels of discussion at last week’s Executive Committee meeting, during which commissioners were advised that the ban on cell phones in the north building will be imposed once a single point of entry is implemented next month.
Currently, cell phones are not allowed in the courts building, which is connected to the historic building by a breezeway between the two sites. When a security upgrade currently taking place is finished in April, the centrally located breezeway will be the only access to either building.
As a result, Sgt. Don Heath from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said it will become impossible to separate people from patronizing the courts building from people doing business at the historic courthouse.
During public comment at Tuesday’s county commission meeting, residents Tim Carls, Rebecca Shank and Andrew Brandt Freeman expressed their concerns.
The resolution appeared on Tuesday’s agenda but was pulled and no action on the proposal was taken.