Start of theater/safe room depends on concrete work

Groundbreaking on the Scott City School District's performing arts theater/Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room depends on when precast slabs for the walls can be poured, superintendent Diann Ulmer said Thursday.

Ulmer attended a preconstruction meeting with the contractor, Zoellner Construction Co. of Perryville, Mo., and subcontractors, on the $2,059,000 project. But the start time centers on when Coreslab Structures of Marshall, Mo., can pour the concrete slabs for the building.

"The way the building is designed using the precast concrete walls, there are only a few companies in the region that produce those. You have to wait for them because of the supply and demand that's out there now," she said, "so whenever we get some idea of when those walls can be poured, we'll have a better idea of when we can break ground."

The FEMA grant was written in 2010 based on building costs then. FEMA gave the district permission to go forward with the bidding process in June 2013.

Zoellner Construction was the low bidder on the 8,987-square-foot structure in September 2013, but even though the district had been setting aside funds since the grant was submitted, it didn't have enough to cover the more than $2 million cost until it got additional funds for FEMA-reimbursable items such as walls, floors, generators, the foundation and some of the electrical work and plumbing.

The safe room grant is 75 percent FEMA funded and 25 percent district match, according to information from the district. With the FEMA-reimbursable items, the new grant amount is $1,516,821, Ulmer said. The original award was $1.125 million.

Meant to withstand an EF-5 tornado with winds of up to 250 mph, the structure will be built on the west side of the district's school buildings and will include a visual and performing arts center. Estimated completion date is April 1, and estimated completion date for the work to finish the inside and make it a performing arts center is June 21, 2015.

The building, which has room for about 1,275 people, will sit between the tennis courts and bus parking lot. It will be available to the public during nonschool hours, Ulmer said.

The theater portion, where concerts and plays can be staged, is something the district is building on its own, and should seat approximately 300 people, she said. The lobby will have a gallery where students can display their art projects.

The district's only current performance venue is the high school gym, which has a stage.

Having the performing arts theater will free up gym space, Ulmer said.

"This will help relieve some of those scheduling issues we have from time to time," she said.

Delta safe room

Delta superintendent Nate Crowden said the safe room planned for his district has been put off.

"We withdrew from the last funding cycle," Crowden said Thursday. The district would have to apply to FEMA again to get another shot at an award.

"We don't know if we will at this point," Crowden said.

Crowden said in November 2013 his district received six bids for its facility and all came in over budget.

The district applied for $641,000 from FEMA about two years ago, and the lowest bid was $808,000, Crowden has said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address: 3000 Main St., Scott City

324 N. Liberty St., Delta, Mo.