Scott City saferoom, theater almost complete

Theater and art students in the Scott City School District soon will have a place to call their own.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room, which also serves as a theater and art gallery, is nearing completion at the school, superintendent Diann Ulmer said Tuesday.

Last week, workers installed 315 seats at the theater, which is part of the 8,989-square-foot structure built to withstand an EF-5 tornado with winds of up to 250 mph.

Lighting at the gallery has been installed, and crews Tuesday were hanging light fixtures at the theater.

The $2.1 million project has been a work in progress for about five years. The federal grant, for which the district first applied in 2010, is 75 percent FEMA-funded with a 25 percent district match.

With the FEMA-reimbursable items, the grant amount is $1.5 million. The original award was $1.1 million.

Ulmer said the items paid for by FEMA include parts of the project needed to make a safe room -- walls, restrooms and a generator.

"The more theater-type portion is school funding," she said. "We've been saving money over the last several years and putting it aside to pay for our portion of it."

Ulmer said it took a long time to reach the construction phase, but the shelter is expected to be finished within a month.

The district broke ground on the project in June, and construction began soon after.

Zoellner Construction Co. of Perryville, Missouri, is the contractor, and Coreslab Structures of Marshall, Missouri, poured the concrete slabs for the building.

The shelter has a capacity of 1,275 people and will be open to the public if severe weather occurs.

"The way we designed it was not just for the students and staff who are here on campus during the day," Ulmer said. "When we designed the building, we took into account the population within a half-mile radius. That allowed us to make the facility a little larger."

If a tornado warning is issued during after-school hours, the shelter will be opened, and the community and area emergency responders will have a safe place to go, she said.

The space also will be used for other school functions, such as band concerts, back-to-school workshops, annual kindergarten screenings and principals' meetings with students.

Ulmer said when she first became aware of the grant opportunity, the school just started its theater program again.

"We were beginning to see a lot of conflicts in the scheduling because we're currently using a stage in the gym," she said. "You're trying to practice basketball, you're trying to practice volleyball, but yet they're trying to get ready for a theatrical performance or band performance."

So discussion among school officials began to focus on finding a home for the district's artistic students.

"Now they'll have one," Ulmer said.

Art teacher Matt Miller said Tuesday that finding a place to showcase students' artwork has been difficult over the years.

"We don't have anywhere to display work," he said. "A lot of our walls are concrete and cinder block, and other walls just have a lot of windows."

The district is planning to organize a grand opening in May that would include theatrical performances, as well as an art show that would continue through the week of graduation.

Miller said he has a large group of advanced and upper-level students this year who have created strong works of art, including paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints.

If the shelter is completed on time, Miller said, there will be between 40 and 50 pieces of art on display at the gallery.

"(The shelter) is going to make it convenient for me, so we can possibly do this more than once a year and make it really accessible to students and the community," Miller said. "I think it's going to be pretty nice."

Beth Cox, president of the school board, said she hopes the safe room will provide peace of mind to the community during severe weather.

"There is also excitement in the school about opportunities for future events in the new theater," she said. "Overall, this is quite an accomplishment for our school district, and we're looking forward to the completion of the project."

klamb@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

3000 Main St. Scott City, Mo.