By Jill Laster

Bluegrass Community and Technical College System is in the process of adding safety measures such as a text message alert system and an administrator responsible for safety and security.

The seven-campus BCTCS, which includes the Cooper Campus location near Commonwealth Stadium, is in the final stages of implementing a system to be used during campus emergencies, said Lisa Bell, the vice president of finance and operations for BCTCS.

The Safety Notification Alert Process (SNAP) system sends text message alerts to those who sign up through the SNAP Web site (www.kctcs.edu/snap/). The safety alert process also includes sending out e-mails during emergencies, as well as alerts that would appear on campus phones.

BCTCS has run system-wide tests for both the e-mail and phone notification, Bell said, and the text message alert is “essentially ready,” but still undergoing tests. The system will definitely be in place by the end of the semester, she said.

BCTCS also plans on hiring a safety and ­security officer, who would be responsible for safety training and other efforts. Bell said the position should be filled by the end of March.

Other changes have come from a fall safety audit performed at the Leestown Campus in Lexington, Bell said. Assessors came at night and looked at changes that needed to be made, such as lights that needed to be replaced and doors that were unlocked at night.

The audit also recommended BCTCS make shrubbery shorter on campus so walkers have better visibility, Bell said. For example, 5-foot-tall shrubs should be trimmed to 3 feet.

 

For the UK-owned Cooper Campus property, BCTCS has asked UK to make significant cuts to the shrubs, Bell said, although it has not happened yet.

Bob Wiseman, UK’s vice president for facilities management said he was not aware of any specific request when contacted for comment Wednesday afternoon. Wiseman said in an e-mail to the Kernel that UK “will certainly contact (BCTCS) now and work with them.”