State Officials Tour MEMA Logistics and Distribution Warehouse

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BOSTON — State officials from the Healey-Driscoll Administration, the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management, and members of the Massachusetts National Guard toured the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) warehouse in Franklin to view storage operations and learn about the Agency's logistic capabilities. 
 
During the tour, participants including Representative William J. Driscoll, Jr., Senator Rebecca L. Rausch, and Senator Michael D. Brady, discussed MEMA's disaster logistics program and reflected on the many lessons learned from the global health emergency.  
 
At the beginning of 2020, before the full emergence of COVID-19, MEMA identified and prioritized the need for a statewide logistics program. The pandemic's shortages and supply chain disruptions, especially in personal protective equipment (PPE) and rapid tests, spurred the Agency to meet that objective ahead of schedule and on a much larger scale than anticipated. During the pandemic, MEMA facilitated the distribution of more than 81 million pieces of PPE and more than 12 million rapid COVID-19 test kits from this facility on behalf of several state partners. 
 
To ensure this achievement will be a lasting, permanent enhancement to the Commonwealth's disaster response capabilities, the Administration's Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Budget proposes a $173,000, or 4 percent, increase to MEMA, which provides funding to support warehouse operations, including the lease of the 75,000-square-foot facility. 
 
"MEMA's operations have been critical in providing first responders and essential workers with emergency supplies and services in their time of greatest need," said Governor Maura Healey. "Our Administration's first budget invests in vital emergency management strategies and critical life-saving supplies, reinforcing our commitment to the readiness and resiliency of communities across Massachusetts."  
 
MEMA assumed occupancy of the 75,000-square-foot Franklin space in August 2020. In addition to stockpiling, sorting, and distributing PPE and other equipment across the region, the warehouse provides needed surge capabilities to receive and distribute consumable supplies quickly. All-hazards response equipment is also available, including a field emergency operations center, 250-bed field hospital, human and animal emergency shelter supplies, equipment to support people with disabilities, mobile field tents, sign boards, light towers, portable power and communications equipment, as well as a stockpile of emergency commodities, including meals ready-to-eat (MREs) and sandbags. Investments of federal funds in material handling equipment, shelving, and electronic inventory management software have grown the warehouse into an efficient and effective statewide solution for receiving, storing, and distributing emergency equipment and supplies. 
 
"MEMA's comprehensive logistics program and strategic supply warehouse represents an operational milestone in our tireless efforts to strengthen the Commonwealth's emergency preparedness," said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. "The Administration's FY24 Budget supports MEMA's deeply impactful public safety mission and fundamentally invests in the health, safety, and well-being of all who live, work, and raise families in Massachusetts." 

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PHS Air and Water Quality Within Accepted Levels

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Air and water quality testing at Pittsfield High School came back within acceptable levels, and the administration is open to additional testing. 

Last week, the School Committee accepted test results on the facility that has sat on East Street for nearly 100 years.  The report was done in collaboration with Atlas Technical Consultants and the Pittsfield Water Department. 

Readings were "acceptable" in all tested locations, and there are recommendations for monitoring humidity, replacing equipment, and additional air monitoring when needed.  Some retesting needed to be done, and a couple of sink faucets were removed in the process. 

"If you want every room sampled, we can do it," Mayor Peter Marchetti said in response to Ciara Batory's concerns about air sampling in only a handful of rooms. 

"This is the report that came back, and this report does not show that children are in danger."

Limited indoor air quality readings were done in rooms 102, 103, 104, and 116 on June 31.  Air quality testing was also done two years ago. 

Humidity levels were slightly above American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers guidelines in rooms 103 and 104; monitoring and dehumidification are recommended. 

The report says that mold spores captured in rooms 103 and 104 likely originated from an indoor source.  Custodial deep cleaning was done right before samples were taken, and a retest showed levels within an acceptable range. 

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