Grant County to upgrade audio, video equipment

EPHRATA — Installation will begin as soon as possible on upgrades to the video and audio systems in courtrooms for Grant County Superior Court, county juvenile services, the emergency operations center and Grant Integrated Services.

Tom Gaines, Grant County central services director, said the project is a response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We are upgrading our courtrooms to meet the needs of remote hearings,” he said.

County officials received a grant of about $555,500 from the Washington State Administration of the Courts to pay for the Superior Court and juvenile court upgrades. The work at Grant Integrated Services will cost about $399,000.

The audiovisual systems in the Grant County Commission hearing room also will be upgraded, at a cost of about $30,000. The upgrades at the emergency operations center will cost about $190,000.

All the money comes, in one way or another, from federal funds provided to states, counties and municipalities to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Gaines said.

The money will pay for new cameras, monitors and microphones in three Superior Court courtrooms.

“We’re adding a ton of technology,” Gaines said.

The court system has a system that allows for some remote proceedings, “but this is a whole new level,” Gaines said.

Similar equipment will be installed in the juvenile services courtroom, the court system’s multipurpose room and the emergency operations center.

The new system will allow people to watch and participate in court proceedings without actually being in the room. A telehealth system will be installed at Grant Integrated Services that will allow counselors to meet with patients remotely.

The project also will pay for installation of audiovisual equipment in some conference rooms in county buildings.

The project is intended to make it easier to conduct business while following the mandated social distancing rules, Gaines said, and it’s expected to pay dividends after the pandemic ends.

“This (pandemic) has opened a lot of eyes to remote hearings and remote proceedings,” Gaines said.

The Superior Court rooms also are getting new carpet, new lights, new ceilings and new paint. That work is being paid for through the county’s capital projects fund.

The equipment will be ordered immediately, but similar work is going on in public buildings all over the country, Gaines said. He estimated it would take three to six weeks to get the equipment after it is ordered.