Etowah County Commission approved the use of $92,000 for a 40-foot storm shelter in Ballplay.
The commission received $92,987.49 in a refund from FEMA and made the decision on Tuesday to appropriate the funds toward another shelter for Etowah residents.
“We don’t typically fund shelters directly,” Shane Ellison said. “But we did have FEMA money that was returned to us from a previous shelter construction property, and so it seems appropriate to go towards a shelter.”
The shelter will be located on Croft Ferry Road, across from the Ballplay Bend Fire Department. The land for the shelter was donated by the volunteer fire department through an income match grant fund, according to Ellison. The overall cost will exceed the $92,000, with the department prepared to cover any overages, Ellison said.
The project has been in the works for over five years, with funding falling through once before. Commissioner Johnny Grant has been an advocate of the shelter working with the fire department to come up with the money.
“I would appreciate if y’all would approve this, and let us move forward with the shelter,” Grant said.
The appropriation was unanimously approved.
Etowah/Gadsden County EMA Director, Derek Mummert, said he is very excited to see the project come to fruition.
“When I took over as director two years ago, this was one of my projects that I wanted to make sure got off the ground and got to completion,” Mummert said in a phone interview with the messenger.
Alternative shelters for this area are Coates Bend on Macedonia Road and New Bethel FCM Church on Main Street, both more than 10 minutes from the new shelter.
“This is going to take their, what we call response time, from leaving their house to getting to a shelter anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to just a couple of minutes,” Mummert said.
A life saving amount of time, according to Mummert.
Mummert has worked closely with Ballplay Fire Chief, Jeremy Tidmore, over the last few years to make this shelter a reality.
“Jeremy Tidmore is a really great friend of mine,” Mummert said. “We have worked really well together over the past couple of years, and being able to work hand in hand with him for the site work. If I needed pictures or anything like that he was always quick and willing to go ahead and get that taken care of.”
It is unknown at this time how long the process of construction will take, according to Mummert.
The population of Ballplay is just above 1,000, according to World Population Review. The shelter will be equipped to withstand up to an EF-5. It’ll hold 100 people and will have a bathroom and a backup generator.
