Safety needs to come first for city workers

The more that is learned about the death of a young man electrocuted while working at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center earlier this year, the more it appears we need to know.

Tobin “Toby” Williams, 27, died in April after changing a light fixture in the kitchen at the convention center. Last month, the state Construction Industries Division ordered the city of Santa Fe to stop electrical repair and maintenance work so that the city can review policies and procedures and reapply for necessary permits; in the meantime, the city is using licensed contractors for any necessary tasks.

The investigation has revealed that people without proper certification have been performing electrical, mechanical and plumbing work in the convention center.

That violates the Construction Industries Licensing Act, its regulations and adopted codes. Williams, when he received his fatal injury, was not supposed to be working on his own. Instead, work by an apprentice such as Williams requires the supervision of a certified journeyman.

The report answered important questions but more must be learned. Who at the convention center was not ensuring that work is being performed by the book, following laws and policies that create safe work conditions? Is this a problem just at the convention center or in other city operations? The ceaseand-desist order is citywide, after all.

How have top officials responded to the cease-and-desist letter so that when necessary permits are reissued, work will be done safely?

According to the report, the two people who generally oversee work at the convention center are neither licensed contractors nor certified journeymen. The city needs to publicly address this concern and let citizens know how this was allowed to happen.

At present, city spokesman Lilia Chacon says the city does not know when permits will be reinstated, although she said that the state did allow maintenance work on traffic signal lights after city officials showed that workers had the required licenses.

A new policy for maintenance functions now requires the public works director or a designated person to audit work orders to make sure the scope of work is permitted and that any worker involved has the proper licenses.

The city is nearly finished documenting what qualified staff is available to perform maintenance work in its various divisions.

Meanwhile, other state investigations continue and the city itself is reviewing procedures — evidently suspect practices date back years. When the city review is complete, officials need to make what they find public, as well as revealing their action plan to correct the situation.

The bottom line is this: Work practices at the convention center appear to have contributed the death of a promising young man. Top bosses, at the convention center and the city, apparently were not ensuring that employees performed critical maintenance safely. That is unacceptable.

Nothing the city does now will bring Toby back. However, we feel confident that the young man’s family will breathe easier if they know that going forward, city workers are safer on the job. Safety first, last and always.