Visitors to the county’s Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville will have to enter through a new security screening system at one of two entrances beginning on or about July 5, according to a press release.
Visitors will pass through a metal detector. Items such as bags, briefcases, mobile phones, containers, laptop computers and purses, will pass through an X-ray machine. Security personnel using a hand-held electronic wand will screen anyone who can’t go through the metal detector.
Security will ask visitors to place all metal objects into a small basket, but they won’t be asked to remove belts, coats, jackets, shoes or watches.
The screening stations will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays. These are the only hours visitors will be able to enter the building.
The council advises, “For public hearings and meetings attended by many visitors, those coming to the building may experience a line to enter and are asked to plan accordingly. For Council public hearings, visitors may want to base their arrival time on the order of the speakers’ list, which is available online the day of the hearing by 11 a.m. for afternoon hearings and by 3 p.m. for evening hearings.”
The designated entrances will be in front of the building near the second-floor cafeteria, and adjacent to the first-floor auditorium near the parking garage adjacent to the building.
Montgomery County Photo