Mount Vernon City Hall will switch to an access control system similar to those used at the public works site and Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department sites.

The cost to switch to a system from RC Tech that is similar to those used at the public works site and MVLPD will be roughly $5,500.

City administrator Chris Nosbisch said that the system will allow people with a fob from any of those other locations to be able to access city hall after hours if they need to, as well as city staff to utilize the other locations as needed.

“The access controls to City Hall were installed prior to COVID-19, and prior to the city owning the police department building,” Nosbisch said. “This will allow us to utilize one key fob for almost all buildings.”

Nosbisch said the outlier for staff will be for access to the Lester Buresh Family Community Wellness Center, and that is complicated because fobs are provided to multiple patrons at the facility as is.

Nosbisch said that there are areas where the current security system is showing it’s age, like the front door not latching completely at times, requiring staff to do a check in bathroom spaces before locking up for the evening that no one is in the building.

Council member C. Sherene Hansen Player asked if staff will be able to tell who has keyed into the building with the new system.

Nosbisch said the systems already have that ability in any location to keep track of used keycards. This will just make city hall’s security system compliant with the others used by other buildings in the community.