CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A proposed 6-foot high wrought-iron fence is part of an overall effort to improve security at the Capitol Complex -- not just to protect the Governor's Mansion, state officials told Gazette editors Monday.

"This is not about one building. It is not about one person," Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jim Spears said of plans to erect a 960-foot-long fence around the Governor's Mansion, past the Holly Grove mansion and up Greenbrier Street to the mansion driveway.

Four contractors have bid on the project, with bids ranging from $478,000 to $868,161. The contract has yet to be awarded.

Spears and Division of Protective Services Director Jay Smithers Monday defended the need for the fence, which has drawn public criticism over its cost and obtrusiveness.

Spears said the fence is not expressly intended to block access to the Governor's Mansion, but to prevent vehicles from entering the Capitol complex from Kanawha Boulevard or Greenbrier Street.

"This is not in response to any one particular incident, nor was it requested by any one particular group," he said of the project.

He said the fence is part of a master plan to enhance crime prevention on the 55-acre campus through environmental design.

Other facets of the plan include the installation of metal gates at each of the 13 vehicle entrances to the campus, and planned installation of retractable bollards to prevent vehicles from accessing other parts of the Capitol grounds.

Additionally, concrete planters, marble benches, and natural barricades will be installed to further restrict access, he said.

Initially, the master plan called for extending the existing stonewall in front of Holly Grove around the Governor's Mansion and up Greenbrier Street, but Spears said construction of the wall would have required cutting down two oak trees.

Smithers said the proposed fence is the most economical option to secure the southwestern corner of the campus.

"Without question, this is being done in the most economical way you can do it, short of building physical barriers," he said.

Despite repeated questions, Smithers could not explain why a fence primarily designed to prevent vehicles from entering the Capitol grounds needs to be 6-feet tall.

"That's the way the architects designed it and presented it," he said at one point.

Smithers said the fence is based on the original architectural plans for the Governor's Mansion. However, a rendering he provided by architect Walter Martens appears to depict a much shorter fence.

Despite publicized criticism of the project, Smithers said he has heard mainly positive comments about the fence.

Spears said he understands people have concerns about the cost of the fence, particularly when other public facilities -- including public schools and college campuses -- lack similar security measures.

Spears, however, reflected on the "broader consequences" of an attack on the Capitol complex, which could disrupt operations of executive branch offices, the Supreme Court, and the Legislature.

Smithers said the need for enhanced security on campus has increased notably since Protective Services -- the Capitol complex police -- was created in 1998.

"Incidents in West Virginia and nationally make it necessary to take additional steps to secure what is arguably the most public place in the state," he said.

On any given weekday, he noted, there are more than 4,500 people on campus.

"You have a small city here, with the day-to-day problems that you would have at any small city," he said.

Reach Phil Kabler at ph...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1220.