Town of Amherst Receives $735,000 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 $735,000 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 fund preconstruction and design costs of a potential Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC) should the feasibility study currently being conducted result in a positive recommendation. The Town of Amherst, together with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Town of Hadley, Town of Belchertown, Town of Pelham, Town of South Hadley, Town of South Hadley Fire District 2, Town of Ware, Town of Ludlow, Town of East Longmeadow, and Town of Wilbraham, have been working together during the feasibility phase with the expressed goal of creating a more efficient response to emergency calls, in addition to a reduction in the cost of operating eleven independent communications centers.
Laurence Shaffer said “Many thanks to Kate Seaman, Deputy Chief Patrick Archbald of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Police Department, Captain Mike Kent and Lieutenant Jennifer Gundersen of the Amherst Police Department for their work on this important grant. It is the team’s goal to create a regional center for emergency dispatch that provides high quality service at less cost.”