Solution may be in sight for courthouse ‘spiderweb’

Communication wiring at the Putnam County Courthouse is a mess.

Courthouse employees know it, citizens needing online services know it and telecommunications contractors know it.

One of them reiterated for the Putnam County Commissioners last week, classifying the situation as “a bunch of network loops that are now a spiderweb.”

But John Hendrich of HOP also had good news for the commissioners: There is a solution and it may could cost less than half of some of the estimates they’ve previously received.

“To redo this and to actually make a functioning network that works every day, every time, it’s going to take about $40,000,” Hendrich said.

This pales in comparison of estimates the county had received upward of $100,000.

The difference, Hendrich said, is that entirely rewiring the building is not necessary.

The signal of the internet connection to the courthouse is strong, Hendrich said. Likewise, much of the physical wiring in place is perfectly fine.

However, networks have been established in the various offices and over the years, cables have been run between specific offices without a thought to the bigger picture, creating loops upon loops upon loops.

The end result is the spiderweb, of which Hendrich spoke.

The chief need is to install master switches for each department that control the flow of information into and out the specific offices. Having one way in and one way out will control the flow of information, including the possibility of controlling websites that the commissioners or department heads do not want employees to visit.

There is also likely to be removal of some of the problematic wiring in the overall web.

Hendrich estimated that this work could all be done for the $40,000 price tag.

However, even with such a solution in place, the tricky part is moving forward for a county without a devoted IT professional.

“There needs to be some ongoing oversight and enforcement of the policies,” Hendrich said.

The problem has become what it is by each office, and more specifically the contractors with whom each one works, doing its own thing and creating the spiderweb rather than an integrated network.

While it is not a full-time job, establishing and enforcing IT policies is the key to the connection remaining strong.

Hendrich added that if chosen to perform the work, his company could be started by the beginning of October and have the five departments related to courts updated by mid-December.

First, though, the commissioners will investigate if the project needs to go up for bid.

The issue is likely to be revisited at the Monday, Sept. 18 meeting.

In other business:

• The commissioners accepted a bid from Pell Roofing and Siding, Brazil, the replace the Putnam County Jail roof at a cost of $217,560.

Pell submitted the only bid for the project.

• Coroner Dave Brown reported that an increase in his caseload has him running out of money for autopsies.

Money in the autopsy fund cannot be transferred to other line items, so Brown assured the commissioners that the situation is beyond his control and due solely to the number of cases he’s had to handle.

“I try to be part of the solution, not the problem,” Brown said.

Approval of additional funds is the responsibility of the Putnam County Council, but Brown went before the commissioners to make them aware.

Brown will appear before the council at its Tuesday, Sept. 19 meeting.