County gets shelter funds
Published 12:08am Friday, February 3, 2012NATCHEZ — Adams County will receive the funds to build another hurricane shelter.
Thursday U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s office announced in a press release that the shelter, known as a 361 Stand Alone Safe Room, had been awarded a funding grant. The $3.25 million project would be largely funded by the federal government, which will pay $3,087,500 — 95 percent of the total cost.
The county has been working on the project since 2009, Adams County Emergency Management Director Stan Owens said.
The county will have to match the remaining 5 percent of the funds, but Owens said most if not all of that could be done with in-kind matches.
“We are working with the school district to donate the land to the county, and we are hoping that will cover two-thirds of the match, with the county coming in and doing some kind of dirt work,” he said.
If the county uses all of the $3 million-plus federal dollars, Owens said the required match will be a value of $162,000.
Some of the federal requirements for the shelter include that it be built on school property, and the proposed site for it is near Natchez High School, in the approximate area of the David Steckler Multipurpose Center. Even though it is on school property, the federal requirements stipulate that it be used as a storm shelter as needed.
Other than that, however, the school district will be allowed to use the 12,000 square-foot building as it wants.
“We are required to exercise the building, go in and flush the toilets, open and lock the doors, so (the school district) can go in and do sports banquets or things like that, maybe put in temporary basketball goals — they only can’t put in permanent fixtures in the open space,” Owens said.
The shelter will be able to house 1,000 people safely in the event of a tornado or hurricane.
“It will be able to withstand 250 miles per hour hurricane force winds,” Owens said. “A two-by-four flying at 100 miles per hour won’t be able to penetrate the walls. It will be a bunker of protection.”
The next step will be for the county to survey the property and enter the design and engineering phase.
Owens said he hopes to see construction start in August with a final inspection and building opening in late summer or early fall 2013.
