Penn Forest Twp. making safer municipal building

Supervisors in Penn Forest Township voted to begin developing plans to make the borough municipal offices safer for township employees.

"We've seen an increase in crime, probably because of the state of the economy," said supervisor chairman Paul Montemuro. "Most of the employees working in this office are women and we want to do a better job of making sure they are safe."

It's not clear exactly what modifications will be made to the structure, but supervisors asked James H. Melber, chief building inspector, to begin work on the development of some plans they could approve at a future meeting. Bullet-proof glass and barriers that would keep residents from wandering through the building without permission were mentioned as possible elements of a new design.