Jetton converts vault to private office

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Speaker Rod Jetton has remodeled a fireproof vault on the Capitol's second floor into a private office, which he says he uses as a retreat from his main office.

The oblong room, which is behind heavy metal doors on an interior hallway, was transformed last month into an unmarked office, known only to the speaker and his closest allies, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.

House staff members painted the thick concrete walls and installed carpeting, overhead lights and a wall-mounted television. They also added a wooden door, which allows the vault to be locked from the inside.

Jetton said the project cost taxpayers about $400, not counting labor. The state already owned the furniture -- a couch, chairs, desk and table.

Jetton, a Republican from Marble Hill, told the Post-Dispatch that he uses the private office to escape the crush of visitors to his spacious office suite on the third floor.

Other House speakers have used the vault for storage. The House has controlled its use since the early 1980s, when many offices relocated to the Truman State Office Building.

Jetton isn't the first speaker to have a secret office. Longtime Speaker Bob Griffin, a Democrat who ruled the House for 15 years, had a hideaway in the Capitol basement, complete with refrigerator and bathroom.

Once Griffin's basement office was discovered in 1990, he turned it into an office for his chief of staff.

House Minority Leader Jeff Harris, D-Columbia, said he would like to see the cost of the vault room documented, and he questioned why a legislator needed private quarters in a public building.

"I would hope this wouldn't decrease the accessibility of the speaker," Harris said.