Bid deadline looms for Scott City school theater/safe room

Deadline for bids for a performing arts theater/safe room for the Scott City School District is coming up Thursday.

Superintendent Diann Ulmer said the application process for a $1.5 million grant to finance the building began in the fall 2010, but it wasn't until June 24 that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the district to move forward with the bid process.

The grant is made up of 75 percent federal money, or $1.125 million; 25 percent, or $375,000, is school matching funds, according to information from the district.

This does not include sound system, curtains, or anything that would make the facility aesthetically pleasing, Ulmer said. To help pay for these items, the district has set aside funds for the past three years and saved $550,000.

"I think it will be a great asset for our community without any additional kind of tax burden," Ulmer said.

The school board is expected to review bids at its next meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in the board office at 3000 Main St.

The 8,000-square-foot facility will be built on the west side of the Scott City school building. It will have its own generator for emergencies, and the prefabricated 1-foot-thick steel-reinforced walls will withstand the winds of an EF-5 tornado, or up to 250 mph.

The building will have room for about 1,275 people and give each person about five square feet of space.

The school building, which houses about 850 students in grades kindergarten through 12th, will allow easy shelter access for all grades. High school students will be closest, followed by middle and elementary youngsters. Restrooms will be nearby for elementary-age children.

"It will be large enough to hold the whole school district," Ulmer said.

Along with the desire to keep students safe during severe weather, another reason for the building is space for theater productions, choir and band concerts and art exhibits in the lobby.

Music and theater programs share the high school gym for performances, which school board President Scott Amick said can interfere with activities such as basketball and volleyball games.

Art exhibits are held in a building downtown, which the owner allows the district to use. The new building will let the school district display students' work for a longer period of time and provide space for middle and high school theater productions, plus a 300-seat capacity.

"There get to be scheduling issues," Ulmer said. "We wanted to give those programs a home."

Amick said the facility also could be used by other organizations, such as the speech club, to host debates.

The project architect is Brett Dille of Dille & Traxel LLC in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Mark Strickland of Strickland Engineering in Jackson worked with the architect, and Brian Orr, an engineer with Toth and Associates Inc. of Springfield, Mo., wrote the grant and is project manager for the safe room/performing arts theater.

Ulmer said Orr began attending area superintendent meetings and promoted the idea of a safe room. "I was there at the meeting and got to thinking I wanted a safer place for the children," she said.

Ulmer said she began talking to the art and theater teachers, who got on board with the concept. "It's been a bunch of people working together," Ulmer said.

If the bids are accepted, plans are to start construction "as soon as the paperwork is taken care of," Ulmer said. "Hopefully, we'll have substantial completion by summer 2014 if all goes well," she said.

Amick and school board Vice President Gary Miller said the important thing about the project is protecting students.

"I am just thrilled with this. It's awesome for the community and the children," Miller said, adding the district owes it to children and their families to keep them safe.

"It's definitely going to serve a great purpose in that we'll have a place for the children to go," if a storm hits, Amick said. And the community will have it available when school's not in session.

Miller said Ulmer has received "a lot of calls" from other school districts asking for information about how she started the project.

Michael York, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Paducah, Ky., said tornado season typically lasts from fall through spring, with peak months in March, April and May. Twisters usually start tapering in June, but it varies. "Some years, we can have tornadoes in fall and winter also," York said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address: 3000 Main St., Scott City