County begins listening sessions on admin building hours and reviews security options for Concourse campus

Pennington County staff told the commission on June 3 they are completing a series of public and employee listening sessions and collecting survey responses to inform possible changes to hours of operation at the county administration campus. Staff said they will compile the data, analyze results this month and return with recommendations for commission consideration.

At the same meeting, county leadership and facility staff discussed security at the Concourse administration campus. Staff said there is a panic/alert system in the building but that it is not currently designed to broadcast a building-wide alert to other offices or to outside responders automatically. The county presented a range of options under consideration, including third-party security proposals and a standardized notification/panic system that could be replicated across county facilities.

Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said the county must modernize how it notifies employees and coordinates response across facilities during a security incident. Commissioners also expressed interest in de-escalation training and a uniform security model that could be applied to all county buildings.

Details and next steps: Staff said they will meet one-on-one with each commissioner to review risk and cost options and to discuss whether to proceed with a staffed security position at the Concourse or with contracted security services. The county also plans to finish analyzing community input on administrative hours and return with consolidated recommendations. Staff noted that any specific security details will be discussed in executive session because of safety sensitivity.

Staff also said the county is updating public-facing communications, including social-media outreach and a planned website upgrade, to ensure broader reach for public engagement on hours and service changes.