The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved funding and plans for a safe room at Cowart Elementary School in western Athens, officials said.
The project is the result of hazardous mitigation money allocated through the Limestone County EMA after the 2014 tornado. FEMA approved the project for $547,281, with the federal share at $410,461 and the city of Athens and Athens school board funding the local match of $136,820, officials said.
The next step is to prepare bid requests for the project, officials said.
When the safe room is built, it will be available to the students and staff at Cowart Elementary, which also houses Spark Academy, and it will be open to the public during non-school hours. It will have an occupancy load of 442 people.
No animals will be allowed in the safe room, except service animals, officials said. There will be designated points of contact to open the safe room as needed. This location is near residential properties, a trailer park and apartments.
The Athens City Council on Monday voted to hire Lee Helms Associates to oversee aspects of the project including obtaining permits, reviewing pay requests, conducting site visits and preparing reports for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. According to the agreement with the firm, the city will pay a minimum fixed fee of $26,049, which is part of the grant budget. The firm has worked with Limestone County EMA on the safe rooms built in Limestone County, officials said.
“Keeping our students safe during the school day is our No. 1 priority,” Athens Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay said in a release. “Having a safe place to take shelter during severe weather will ease the minds of all our parents, teachers and students. Additionally, this will be a valuable resource to our community.”
The safe room will be built south of the school on campus grounds, and the school system is providing the land as part of its local match. Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said City of Athens crews will provide labor where possible for part of the city’s local match.
©2017 The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
