Dear all,
I work for a small nonprofit that caretakes a number of historic buildings, and I would love to know if anyone has advice or ideas about the following situation, as we are struggling with finding the right balance.
My nonprofit has recently begun a restoration project on a historic house under our auspices. It is an active construction site right now, as this is an extensive, multi-year project. There are tripping hazards, lots of dust, and narrow stairs that in some cases do not have handrails. It is a potentially perilous (but not actively dangerous) site.
We will be offering monthly hard hat tours of this site for the public, in addition to special group tours. For people to come inside the house, they are required to wear hard hats and closed-toed shoes, as well as sign a waiver. This waiver was written collaboratively between my nonprofit, the lead construction company, and respective legal departments. In addition, we send out emails to the groups or individuals ahead of time restating these requirements and also mentioning that the site may be difficult to navigate for anyone with limited mobility. We also repeat this at the very beginning of every tour, before we enter the house. In addition, inside the house, we have chairs available and at least one staff member onsite in the event that someone needs to take a break, begins feeling sick, or feels unable to navigate part of the tour.
The challenge is this: we have had a few experiences so far where people with mobility issues have decided to take the tour (even knowing the risks and disclaimers), and there have been some near-misses and almost-incidents.
My question is, how do your organizations balance being friendly, inviting, and welcoming with keeping visitors and guests safe? Do you ever step in and deny someone from being able to participate on a tour? Do you communicate the risks and then simply trust a visitor's judgment about his/her own abilities?
I would be grateful for your responses and feedback. Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Aliya Reich
Public Programs Coordinator
Historic Annapolis


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