By Gary Lloyd
PALMERDALE — A tornado shelter is possible for Palmerdale.
At the Jan. 13 Jefferson County Board of Education meeting, a recommendation was made for the city of Pinson to build a tornado shelter on the former Palmerdale Elementary School site if the city is successful in obtaining a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. That site is behind the Palmerdale Homesteads Community Center.
VIDEO: Watch a report about the potential tornado shelter.
The minutes from that meeting state that the property is owned by the board of education and is leased to the city of Pinson. If the city is successful in obtaining a FEMA grant, the city would like to build the shelter on the abandoned tennis court behind the fire station, the minutes state.
The fire station the minutes refer to is Palmerdale Fire Station No. 1 on Miles Spring Road.
In December, the Clay City Council approved two resolutions that could be the first steps toward an emergency storm shelter in Clay.
The first allows Mayor Charles Webster to pursue a FEMA hazard mitigation grant that will allow a first responder storm shelter to be built at Clay-Palmerdale Road Fire Station No. 4. The grant is supposed to be for 20 percent of the project, but City Manager Ronnie Dixon said enough funds were available that the grant might cover 100 percent of the project.
The second resolution will enter the city into a contract with a consulting company called EnCompass360. EnCompass360 will work as a go-between for the Clay City Council and FEMA. According to Dixon, EnCompass360 believes it can get a large enough grant to cover not only 100 percent of the cost of a safe room for 77 people at Station No. 4, but also a second grant for one of the city’s other stations.
EnCompass360 charges a $7,500 fee for this service, which is reimbursable if the grant is approved.
Lee Weyhrich contributed to this story.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.