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The State of Missouri
partnered with the City of Seymour to build a tornado safe room across the
street from the high school and middle school campus and next to the elementary
and kindergarten schools. The safe room was designed for a maximum of
1,194 individuals with the target population being the students, teachers and
staff of the Seymour Schools.
The grant was written
by Linda Watts, Assistant Emergency Management Director with Webster County
Emergency Management. Linda, along with Bill Sexton, Webster County
Emergency Management Director, was a big help during the entire grant process.
Project Manager was
Monte Calfas, who was responsible for monthly progress reports to SEMA and FEMA,
as well as being the local contact for any documents or other information that
was required or requested by SEMA or FEMA.
The grant was awarded
September 5, 2008 and the contract was signed by the City and by SEMA on October 23, 2008. On September 11,
2009 the authorization was given by SEMA to proceed with construction of the
safe room, which then began in early October.
The final project
cost was $955,313.35. FEMA provided $653,556.51 and Seymour contributed
$301,756.84 for its share of the grant. The city has also paid $100,00+
for the purchase of the land, improvements to the land and various other items.
This Safe Room was
built in accordance with FEMA 361 guidelines, which must also be adhered to in
the usage of the facility. This safe room is intended to provide
protection during a short-term extreme-wind event such as a tornado. This
is not a recovery shelter, or a shelter that can be used as a warming or cooling
center.
According to FEMA, the average maximum stay is approximately 2 hours.
It is possible to use
the safe room for other activities, as long as those activities do not interfere
with the primary purpose, which is protection against tornados. In the
event of a tornado watch, or warning, any items within the public part of the
building (chairs, tables, etc.) must be removed immediately to allow the
allotted square footage for the public.
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