Building far from ‘adequate’

June 17, 2009 03:33 pm

— To the editor:
I have to take issue with the editorial published on June 3 titled “New county facility can wait.” I question whether the source/author of that editorial has ever visited the Public Defender’s Office on the top floor of Administrative Building #2, which is located on the corner of King and Selvidge streets. The editorial casually states that Bldg. #2 is adequate and keeps us reasonably cool in the summer and dry when it rains. It is true that almost half of our space has air conditioning that actually works but hey, air conditioning is only an issue during the months of May through the end of September. As for being dry, yes, we have our very own bucket to catch the rain water that leaks through the roof, never mind the accompanying mildew or mold. This wasn’t as much of a problem during the drought but who knew we would get rain this year.
I suppose the person who deemed this building “adequate” is healthy and could navigate the three sections of stairs to get up to our office. Unfortunately, some in our community are disabled and cannot climb stairs or have great difficulty doing so and don’t bother to search for the elevator, there isn’t one. Add to this the fact that there are no security measures in place for this building. Our small public waiting area is secured by a rope between two posts, like what you would find in a movie theatre.
The work area is cramped and is not adequate for our current needs but we “make do” and I hope that is not the final two words on this subject.

Mike McCarthy
Circuit Public Defender for Whitfield
and Murray Counties