A multi-use safe room for Charleston is one step closer to reality after U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, both Mississippi Republicans, on Monday announced a $1.2 million federal grant for the project.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation grant will be used to construct a 2,670-square-foot safe room that will be designed to protect up to 531 people from wind speeds up to 250 mph.
The facility will be built at 204 S. Market St., utilizing a portion of the parking lot on the west side of the Tallahatchie County office building, once home to the SuperValu grocery store. The property is owned and managed by the county.
“Investing in public safety prior to a disaster or emergency can help save lives. The completion of this safe room would provide additional shelter for hundreds of Charleston residents during severe weather,” said Coch-ran, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over FEMA funding. “I am pleased that FEMA recognizes the efforts made in the Delta to protect its citizens.”
Wicker noted, “Public storm shelters are an important resource to protect people from dangerous weather conditions. I am pleased that the city of Charleston can join the many Mississippi communities that have built these safe havens for their residents.”
The multi-use facility, described as a “concrete monolithic dome,” would be built to meet FEMA 361 guidelines, which include backup water and wastewater, power generation and other emergency necessities, according to a news release from the senators’ offices.
Tallahatchie County Emergency Management Agency Director Thad Roberts said he and the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors have been working to secure this project for about two years, since learning of the funds’ availability.
“The federal government designated money for this program, for this purpose, and we submitted an application for it,” said Roberts.
In May 2016, FEMA awarded an initial $111,962 for planning and design of the Charleston facility. The news release notes that the new grant award brings the total federal share of the safe room project to $1.24 million, 90 percent of the total cost of $1.37 million.
Under a 2010 provision adopted by Congress, FEMA considers the remaining 10 percent non-federal matching requirement on the project satisfied, the news release noted.
Roberts said the multi-use facility will feature office space for officials overseeing operations there during times of emergency, two restrooms, a storage room for tables and chairs that will be acquired later, and a lot of open space.
“We’ve got a preliminary design, but that can change,” he explained.
While the primary purpose for the building would be to serve as a safe room during severe weather or, perhaps, as a temporary shelter in the wake of storms, Roberts noted that the facility could be utilized for many purposes.
“It presents a lot of potential,” he said Monday. “Originally, when we were talking about this, we planned it to be used as a recreation area for children and to try to get a group to maybe sponsor and oversee activities there.”
Roberts said the county-owned facility, which will be operated under the authority of the Board of Supervisors and his agency, will be available to rent for such functions as weddings, receptions, parties and other activities.
Club and town meetings, social gatherings, school banquets and senior proms are just a few other uses for the building that came to Roberts’ mind on Monday.
However, he cautioned local residents against getting too excited just yet.
“This is phase one of the project. Phase two will be one to one-and-a-half years out,” he noted. “Completion is going to be at least two years down the road.”
In the meantime, once the tap is opened and the FEMA funds begin to flow, Roberts said he hopes that the money will benefit the local community and some local workers.
Editor's note: To learn more about monolithic dome construction, visit the following page on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolithic_dome
