Town of Amherst Receives $125,000 from the Massachusetts State Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
Laurence Shaffer, Town Manager for the Town of Amherst is pleased to announce that the Town of Amherst has received a $125,000 grant from the Massachusetts State Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPPS) as part of the Regional and Regional and Secondary Public Safety Answering Point and Regional Emergency Communications Center Development Program. These funds will allow the Town of Amherst to conduct a feasibility study for the potential creation of a Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC). The Town of Amherst, joining together with the Town of Hadley, Town of Belchertown and University of Massachusetts Amherst shall conduct a feasibility study in order to regionalize the dispatch services to provide a more efficient response to emergency calls, in addition to a reduction in the cost of operating four independent communications centers.
Laurence Shaffer said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to study the creation of a Regional Emergency Communications Center. Many thanks to Kate Seaman, Deputy Chief Patrick Archbald of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Police Department and Lieutenant Jennifer Gundersen of the Amherst Police Department for their work on this grant.”