District 2 Supervisor Riley Rice wants Sunflower County to have a community emergency shelter within the next four years.
During Monday’s Sunflower County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, County Emergency Management Director Denny Evans told the leaders that Rice had asked him to research the matter.
Evans found out that the city of Grenada built a shelter using Mississippi Emergency Management Agency grant funds, so he contacted MEMA and was told that the shelter requires a 75-25 match and has to be constructed on county-owned property. He said the size of the shelter is dependent upon the population within a half-mile radius of the structure.
Since no location has been determined, Evans said it was difficult to affix a size to get a cost estimate. “So, I just had them base it on a thousand people, that sounded like a good round number,” he said.
Evans said for that size population it would require a 6,000 square foot building and at an approximate cost of $400 per square foot, the building would cost $2.4 million, which equates to $1.8 million of federal money and $600,000 from the county.
He added that the grant is a reimbursement grant. “Which means that the county would have to cover the whole cost and be reimbursed the 75 percent through MEMA,” Evans said.
Rice told the board members that Grenada has already constructed one tornado shelter and is planning a second. “I think it would be beneficial for us to look into that because we don’t have one,” he said.
Rice stressed that the building could be used as a multi-purpose facility when it is not being used as a shelter and Evans concurred as long as the other activities did not interfere with the intended purpose.
District 3 Supervisor Dennis Holmes asked if the county would have to have had a tornado in order to qualify and Evans said that was no longer the case. He said if any county within the state experienced the storm then all of the counties are eligible.
Rice added that Congressman Bennie Thompson assisted Grenada in getting their shelter and he could possibly help Sunflower County. “The next four years, we’re going to have us a storm shelter. Next time we’re going to be on the front page for a storm shelter,” he said.
President Glenn Donald added that the shelter needs to be in a neutral place or one placed on each end of the county.
In other business,
Evans reported that at least two homes in the county were damaged by the overnight June 19 storm that passed through the area. He also shared that they hosted another grain bin rescue exercise and all of the rescue equipment has been distributed to the municipal fire departments.
Donald asked Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams about a possible way to resolve an issue concerning “some dilapidated houses.” He asked if the structures could be used to train firefighters. “Can you do a fire drill, Johnny?”
McWilliams explained the legal ramifications and added, “It’s going to be on the front page of the paper that we know about it,” he said. Evans added, “From my understanding, the correct way to do it, is to get approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.”
Describing one of the properties, Donald said, “It’s an eyesore, it’s a danger, it’s where I guess opossums, raccoons and snakes and everything.”
He indicated that the property was located on Crouch Road, west of Moorhead, and the homeowner wanted it gone and would consent to the action. According to Donald a “fire drill” is an old practice used for training purposes that other counties, namely Leflore, are still using.
Donald said he spoke to the homeowner about demolishing the property and she asked what the county could do to help. He estimated that it would cost more than $1,000 to get someone to tear it down. However, he clarified that it was not his intent that the county burn the structure, but simply use the fire as a training drill.
Donald also asked what role the county could play in tearing down the structure and McWilliams told him the matter would need to go through the proper due process hearing and the cost of demolition would have to be added to the property owner’s tax bill and cautioned them to verify the ownership before proceeding.
Donald emphasized that the structure is a nuisance and is causing a problem for the neighbors. “Then she should tear it down,” said McWilliams.
Donald reemphasized that it was not his intent to break any laws; he was simply presenting the matter to the others to see what needed to be done.
He said the problem has been going on for a couple of years and E-911 Director John Thompson added that there are also propane gas tanks attached to the home that tend to float when the water is high.
