The $32,000 "ounce of prevention" not needed

The $32,000 budgeted by the Convention Center for a third party to "inspect" the fire prevention and safety systems at the facility seems like an extreme waste of money.

The Lancaster City Bureau of Fire, a "third party" with no vested interest in the CC project already staffs 4 Fire Inspection officers.These officers perform plans review, system inspections and performance analysis.

In fact, Lt. Alex Grumbrecht, a city Fire Inspector has been overseeing the safety systems at the CC from the start of construction. Firefighters from the Bureau are now conducting a pre-incident survey of the site to ensure that both the facility and the Fire Bureau are prepared to handle an emergency.

All of these services are provided at nominal cost - the cost of the initial permit for the systems. In fact, since the site has contributed zero dollars to the city's tax coffers, the CC is receiving fire protection services for FREE from the city.