GREENFIELD – A $56,775 grant awarded to the Friends of the Franklin County Fairgrounds through the Office of Grants and Research’s Massachusetts Nonprofit Security Grant Program will help improve security at the Wisdom Way fairgrounds.
“As we continue to grow and host some larger events, it is of particular interest to us to ensure that we protect our guests (as best as possible),” said Mike Nelson, president of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, which operates the fairgrounds.
The organization has been working for several years to identify security vulnerabilities, Nelson added, and one recommendation was to improve security around the site.
In 2019, severe weather caused a landslide that destroyed 146 metres of the fence. A smaller fence was erected as a temporary barrier, but Nelson said the organisation had safety concerns that it could not address due to a lack of funding.
“It’s actually only 5 feet high, just enough for a 10-year-old to jump over or climb over without any problem. So it wasn’t really effective at keeping people out,” Nelson explained. “Anyone who really wanted in could easily get in, which wasn’t good.”
The $56,775 grant, part of a total of $4.75 million awarded to 85 Massachusetts nonprofits earlier this month, will cover the cost of replacing the temporary fence as well as a poorly constructed rear entrance that often causes larger vehicles to damage neighboring properties when trying to get in. It will also cover the replacement of several other sections of fence that have been damaged by vehicles, vegetation and rust.
Saladino Property Maintenance was contracted to replace the fence and the finished product is an 8-foot-tall chain link barrier with three rows of razor wire.
“This funding will provide nonprofits with critical resources to implement security improvements that ensure their ability to protect those they serve,” Governor Maura Healey said in a statement.
According to a statement from the Healey administration, the Office of Grants and Resources reviewed applications from nonprofits deemed at high risk of becoming victims of hate crimes or terrorist attacks and awarded grants based on alignment with the Massachusetts Nonprofit Security Grant Program priorities, availability of funds, and whether the organization had previously received nonprofit security grants. The Friends of the Franklin County Fairgrounds is the only nonprofit in Franklin County to receive a grant in this round of funding.
“We have not experienced any extremist attacks, thankfully, but we are very aware of the world around us,” Nelson noted. “We have had things like bomb threats during the County Fair in the past, all of which turned out to be hoaxes, but nonetheless, it is a reality that there are people out there who are at least trying to cause a little chaos… even here, in our tiny corner of the world.”
