Shooting renews council’s security concerns

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

Twelve days after a gunman opened fire in a Kirkwood, Mo., city council meeting, killing three officials and two police officers, Marion Town Council’s building committee is revisiting security in its own town hall.
Council Member Herb Clay said the council owes its members and the citizens who attend its meetings a measure of safety. The council voted to send the issue to the committee, asking Clay to appear at the group’s meeting to present his ideas.
Clay brought up safety in the building last year, but the committee could find no cost-effective way to boost security by using closed-circuit cameras. Staff members, they said, cannot do their work and keep an eye on security monitors, one of the suggested enhancements.
Council member Ken Heath proposed installation of panic buttons in town offices and the council chamber that could be activated in an emergency to alert police. Council member Mark Warren countered that a Missouri-style attack would be over in minutes, long before police could respond.
Marion Police Chief Mike Roberts usually attends council meetings, frequently to report on his department, and to maintain order as well. Clay noted that for a few moments Tuesday evening, Roberts was out of the room, leaving its occupants without security.