Saturday, February 7, 2015

The Taste & Price Of Safety

 Taste of Amherst (always late  June) 2014

The Taste of Amherst, that downtown summer institution that brings bliss to Valley foodies and our local restaurant industry, will get a tad safer if Amherst Town Meeting approves DPW Chief Guilford Mooring's $20,000 capital request for Park Replacement Equipment.  As will that other major event, Extravaganja.

Technically the historic Amherst town common is a park.

And the current electrical system becomes a spider web of potentially dangerous cords anytime there's a major function. Because some of those major events attract thousands of visitors, a shocking incident is always a possibility.



The $12,000 worth of Spider Boxes will not only organize all the temporary wiring to help reduce tripping over them, but also brings important ground fault circuit interrupter protection, which comes in handy on rainy days.

The Merry Maple "holiday" tree on the town common was knocked out a couple times last December due to a combination of faulty wiring and rainy weather.

Merry Maple will be insulated against  power outages

The FY16 budget does not commence until July 1st -- a tad too late for this year's Taste of Amherst.

Guilford Mooring pitching to the Joint Capital Planning Committee 2/5/15

But Mr. Mooring is hoping to get the Business Improvement District and Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce to front the money to buy the spider boxes as soon as possible, and then reimburse them out of his FY16 budget, assuming Town Meeting approves the $20,000 capital item.

12 comments:

Walter Graff said...

It sure is a lot of money for a few cables. Most events there have two covered steps of cables (fair, etc). Odds of someone getting hurt in any of those situations is slim. Might make the cable Gods happy but pretty large expense to clean things up a bit behind the scenes. Then again they sure do get good use of the area.

Anonymous said...

It would be nice to have an area with power accessible to local musicians to plug in at will, something similar to Harvard Square. Richard Marsh

Anonymous said...

The Merry Maple was shining bright this
past week.

Larry Kelley said...

Town electrician performed magic.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see these used as tables and chairs by all the tubbies!

Anonymous said...

So how much does the Extravaganja pay to use the common? After all, isn't that a University event? What are the other costs associated with that event, I see quite a few police and parking officers working it, in addition to DPW preparation and cleanup.

Tom Simpson said...

At first glance, the spider boxes seem like a good idea. It also seems like a good idea that any group wanting to use the Common that wants electrical connections be required to rent the number of boxes needed. That way, the boxes will eventually have cost the Town nothing

Anonymous said...

Any reports from the injuries that not having these power strips has caused. This would help the community understand how much these devices will mitigate those injuries or deaths. Or perhaps this is just wise leaders spotting yet another risk that was previously overlooked. Ethier way if someone could possibly get hurt, any action is justified by the town to mitigate it. You cannot put a price on safety. For people worried about these becoming furniture, simply arrest the students that do it or send the new student control dog after them....or even slope the top of the units, either way the town can deal with the ignorant students. Bob Black, N. Amherst.

Anonymous said...

I commend the town for focusing on safety BEFORE there is a tragedy. Usually these things only happen after the fact.

Anonymous said...

Arrest the students that sit on these. Ha. Don't recall seeing THAT many students around during the taste of Amherst festival... Oh, and what law would the be in violation of?

Anonymous said...

GFCIs have save my life (at least 9 times) - it's about time!

- I'm not a nitwit

Dr. Ed said...

GFIs save lives -- I will not use electricity outdoors without one.