School board talks about tornado safety

A tornado safe room was discussed at a special Belmond-Klemme School Board meeting held October 14.

Craig Schwerdtfeger of Struxture Architects spoke first. He explained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency helps fund tornado safe rooms based on school size. He suggested that one safe room could serve both buildings. FEMAwill help pay for a basic building, but not furnishings, brick veneer, ceilings, windows, flooring or landscaping. Those items are up to the local taxpayers to fund. If windows are included in the building, special shutters are added which are closed by the teacher when a storm comes. FEMAwill pay for emergency power in the building, and he suggested a battery system rather than a generator.

Struxture has completed safe rooms in Waverly and Grundy Center, and has started applications for Iowa Falls, Clarion and Dike-New Hartford.

Superintendent Kirk Nelson said his main concern is how much the local share of construction would be, and how the district would pay for its share.

Schwerdtfeger left the room, and Ed Wineinger of Waggoner and Wineinger Architects came in to give his ideas. W&W has completed school safe rooms in Lake Mills, Mason City, and St. Ansgar and community safe rooms in Northwood, Ventura, Clear Lake and Lakeside (near Storm Lake).

Wineinger gave a more complete report to the board, outlining the rules, financing, timeline and process for building a tornado safe room. He also stated that FEMAwill only pay for the bones of a safe room. That includes basic bathrooms, a heating and cooling system, and limited electrical power. Because under new rules, FEMAwill now pay for HVAC systems, he said a battery back-up power system would be inadequate and a generator would be needed.

Wineinger said the board should file a Notice of Interest with Iowa Homeland Security right away. This is a simple form and starts the process.

Then, he said, the board will have to decide what type of structure to build -- a classroom wing, multi-purpose room, athletic facility, etc. If classrooms, how many and what size? Once that is decided, the architect can start on a design. He handed out a drawing of a project currently being planned for the school in Alta.

Wineinger was asked about building one large safe room for both schools. You cant really do that, he said. FEMAdoesnt want kids running across the parking lot in the middle of a storm. You will have to decide if you want your safe room at the high school or the elementary school, and then size it for that.

He was then asked about building two smaller rooms. That might be a possibility. I will talk to Homeland Security in Des Moines about it, he replied.

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School board talks about tornado safety