Cambridge Officials Seek to Reassure Public on Y2K

The scope of the wide-ranging Y2K computer problem was demonstrated yesterday as representatives from state government to food retail addressed the matter in a public forum at the Cambridge Senior Center.

At the event--titled "Y2K: Anything to Worry About?"--15 officials from the public and private sectors assured an audience of about 100 that their organizations will be Y2K-compliant by the end of the year.

The majority of speakers said their companies or agencies were already compliant, while the rest said they were certain they would be compliant by Jan. 1.

"I can guarantee that the buses and trains will run New Year's Eve," said Roger Ford, an official in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Special Operations division.

Ford said the MBTA will rely on two jet engine generators in South Boston as sources of power to keep 80 percent of its system running indefinitely should it break down. Fuel trucks and 300 buses will provide additional support.

"We are able to handle any situation that comes up," Ford said.

State representative Jarrett T. Barrios '90 said that about 95 percent of the state's systems are currently Y2K-compliant, and that a third-tier "emergency preparedness" center will be in place in Framingham if contingency plans fail.

Representatives from Shaw's Supermarkets to the police department to local electric companies also assured the predominantly elderly audience that their services will continue smoothly at the New Year.

"Yes, the lights will be on on Jan. 1, 2000, and the gas will be flowing into your homes," said Eric Delacoste of the Cambridge Electric Company. He added that all of their power plants would be running at 150 percent capacity on December 31.

Bernard Rogers, a representative of Shaw's, outlined the complexity of the Y2K problem for his supermarket. He said the 170 Shaw's across New England process about 4.5 million transactions per week and that Shaw's restocks its shelves six times per week based on computer database sales from the previous day.

"The system is very, very intricate," he said.

Rogers said that Shaw's was compliant in April but is now working to bring its newly acquired Star Market stores into compliance before the deadline.

Several speakers likened the "coming storm" of the Y2K problem to a natural disaster such as a winter storm or Hurricane Floyd.

"It's not unlike a snow storm or a blizzard or a hurricane," Rogers said.

Occasionally speakers used some humor to lighten up the tone of their presentations.

"I have to admit that I will probably have a 2-day stash of Devil Dogs on hand," said Michael Walsh, a lieutenant in the Cambridge Police Department.

"In the event that you wake up on Jan. 1 and your bank account has 2 million extra dollars in it, I want you to give it to me," said Harold Cox, public health director for Cambridge.

At the event, emceed by Cambridge License Commissioner Benjamin Barnes, many speakers also gave advice on what to do when the new millennium begins.

Walsh urged the audience to be wary of scam artists and to keep water, flashlights and portable radios in their homes, while George Fosque, the city's 911 director, asked that everyone does not check to see if their telephone works at 12:01 a.m. on New Year's Eve.

Cox advised the audience to strike a balance between the extremes of believing everything is going to be fine and that "airplanes are going to fall out of the sky."

"You need to prepare for some short disruption of service," Cox said.

At the end of the program, audience members expressed their concerns about the issue.

Isabore Hlazel, a Brookline resident, said he was concerned about the cost of fixing Y2K glitches in the U.S. He said that companies might "fudge" their level of compliance and that smaller companies or communities do not have adequate resources to combat the problem.

"What about the medium-sized companies...or municipalities that do not have the talent or resources or money to cope with this?" Hlazel said.

Fosque, however, said that the city's workers were not fudging anything.

"We're all taking a skeptical attitude and trying to plan for the very worst," he said.

The forum was televised live on the City of Cambridge's Channel 1 and will be periodically rebroadcast over the next few months.