8 thoughts on “Vehicle registration services move to new county building”

1. Why do the good citizen of Hays County have to go thru court house security to do business with the County? I understand courtroom security for court cases and court rooms, but why do you have to take off you belt, empty your pockets and answer question from the SO when all you want to do is get a new licence plate, pay taxes or conduct the people’s buisness.

2. I don’t blame the sheriff’s office. The question is who designed the place? That would probably be a good question for the commissioners. What they should’ve done was somehow have the county offices separate from the courts. Anyway going to court, goes through security. Anyone going to the county offices, doesn’t have to. I think that the flaw is with the design.

3. I have to agree with David here. The security at the new Courthouse is overkill. I went in Friday to renew my plates and was forced to remove my belt. I know there are quite a few elected officials turning a blind eye to this waste of taxpayer funds. They should to go through the scanners. What’s good for the goose is good for gander.

4. Is anyone else out there slightly apprehensive about the trajectory we seem to be heading as a society as far as intrusive security measures are concerned, be we talking about omnipresent red light cameras, mandatory highway blood draws, or over-the-top-scanners at airports? Anyone hear about the TSA exercises on the Interstate in Tennessee? Funny, I thought TSA was for airport security. I ask myself where this is headed and then I want to curl up in the fetal position and go to sleep for a very long time. What’s happening to us? Are we even safer for all these measures? Do we even ask for proof? Or do we just sign the checks and go watch more tv? Yeah, I know…

5. what I meant to say was: Yeah, I know, check the turnout at such civic exemplars as our recent municipal election for your answer as to where the body politic’s head is at (or, rather, not at)…

6. In addition to the notions so eloquently expressed above, consider they first renovated the courthouse, with Lady Justice herself crashing thru the roof shortly thereafter. Then, built the boondoggle “one stop shop” justice center. Lets us hope this is the LAST of the new offices the county officials give themselves on taxpayer money. Are they even allowed to move the county seat like that….??? Guess so.

   So sad to watch the downtown be moved away from the downtown. Seems to be very little advocacy for the downtown except during election time.

7. I have made a couple trips out to our newest museum to government, and it is hard to believe we can afford the facility or the security. The only thing that separates the entry security from the airport is I was allowed to keep my shoes on (for now). Four deputies were positioned at the front door and I later saw four others roaming the empty halls. Well, they really weren’t roaming so much as standing around talking to each other I have been in over 40 county justice centers and courthouses, and I have never seen more security theater than Hays.

   I am still unhappy the building cost so much, is in such an inconvenient place, and is accessible by a single entry point, but that ship has sailed. It seems we could at least stop paying at least $200 an hour for security theater designed more to impress than actually catch a real and tangible threat to the museum and its workers. Projecting out, that is at least $400,000 a year which could be better used to serve the many poor and needy in this county or returned to the taxpayers from whence it came.

8. +1