Effective Feb. 27, all visitors to the Carbon County Courthouse Annex must enter a secure door, complete with sheriff’s deputy, a metal detector and X-ray machine, before visiting one of 10 departments in the building.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners and Sheriff Anthony Harvilla announced that the project, which has been in the works in phases over the last year, will go live at the end of the month.Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said security is a priority for the employees because of issues and threats that have occurred over the years.“Effective on Feb. 27, full-time security will be in place here,” Harvilla said, adding that all visitors, which means non-employees of the county, “will be required to go through a screening similar to what is already in place in the courthouse and the 76 Susquehanna St. building.Nothstein said county maintenance has been moving items around and finishing up the preparations on the first floor for the new secure entrance, but the county is still waiting for a secure lock box for any weapons that may be brought to the building and the secure door, which has been ordered.“There will be a few minor details that will come after to complete the project,” Harvilla said. “But we will be able to go live.”Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said he felt the added security was “long overdue” and said it will help all employees feel safer when at work.The commissioners have spent thousands on the upgraded security at both the courthouse and annex over the last year, but much of that was through grants that have been secured by the county and Harvilla.“Security enhancements cost money, sometimes a lot,” Nothstein said, adding that final totals for the upgrades have not been tallied yet.Harvilla commended the commissioners for taking the initiative to move forward on this project.The security enhancements at the county buildings started in November 2015 after Harvilla was elected as the new sheriff.Harvilla, who was formerly the chief federal probation officer for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, asked his contacts at the U.S. Marshal’s office for help doing an analysis of the buildings, which was completed last May.Since then, the county has worked to implement the recommendations to beef up security.Grants have been secured through the Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool Loss Prevention program for the installation of a keypad entry door on the third floor entrance, the purchase of a shatter-resistant glass enclosure at the front desk of the commissioners’ office and a new X-ray machine and walk-through metal detector at the courthouse.