Voters to decide whether Advance gets storm shelter

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Voters in the Advance School District on April 7 will decide the fate of a $1.9 million bond issue that would provide funding to build a dual-purpose storm shelter.

After an EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011, Advance schools applied for a matching grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build a safe room.

"Everybody saw that devastation and loss of life," superintendent Stan Seiler said Friday. "Nobody wants that for their town, their neighbors, their school or for the people they love."

In April, Gov. Jay Nixon announced the district would receive the grant, with about $1 million in federal funds provided and a required local district match of $441,934.

The FEMA grant provides funding for a shelter with heating, duct work, a generator and bathrooms, Seiler said.

The grant also requires the shelter to serve a second purpose. Because the district holds elementary and high-school physical-education courses in the high-school gym at the same time, officials decided the new space should double as physical-education classrooms and a gymnasium. It also would be used for band and choir performances.

The $1.9 million bond issue would cover the matching portion, as well as a 3,000-square-foot addition to the shelter; additional lighting; goals, nets, bleachers, scoreboards and flooring; two hallways connecting the shelter to the high school and gym; air conditioning; and two classrooms.

Any funds remaining from the bond issue would be used to replace the high school's roof, which is aging and leaking, officials said.

If the district can't raise matching funds through Proposition Keep Advance Safe, the grant will become unavailable.

Mitzie Seger, chairwoman of the Proposition Keep Advance Safe committee, said one of her first childhood memories is of a tornado that hit Advance in 1963.

"To this day, when the weather gets bad and the wind starts picking up, I am extremely fearful," said Seger, whose son attends the high school. "So I wanted to try to get this through for the safety of children and the community."

The debt would require a 17-cent increase in the debt-service levy, raising it from 37 cents to 54 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of real and personal property. That would equate to an increase of about $32 a year for the owner of a $100,000 house, officials said.

"To me, if you can save one child from a tornado, it's worth it," said Todd Ritter, assistant chairman of the committee.

Ritter said it also would provide peace of mind for the community.

The 9,700-square-foot shelter would withstand 250 mph winds. The district has about 450 students, 50 teachers and staff members, and the town has about 1,200 residents. The shelter could hold 1,700 people and be open during severe weather.

"My parents live across the street from me," Ritter said. "They don't have a basement. I don't have a basement. This is something the whole community can utilize."

School officials said the safe-room door locks could be connected to the city's siren system. When the sirens sound, the doors would open automatically.

Someone from the Advance City Police Department, local government or school personnel also would be available to ensure the safe room is opened.

Officials said the shelter also could be used as a cooling or warming center during a natural disaster.

"When you can protect your community that way, it's a no-brainer to me," Ritter said.

The committee will host three public forums this month to give residents an opportunity to ask questions or voice concerns.

The forums are scheduled for 6 p.m. March 17, 24 and 31 in the elementary cafeteria. Committee members and district administrators will be present.

A question-and-answer fact sheet also can be found on the committee's Facebook page Proposition Keep Advance Safe.

klamb@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

School Street, Advance, Mo.