The city of Joplin could have 99 concrete storm shelters to use or distribute in the future.
City staff is developing a plan to propose a use of the shelters that were placed at temporary sites by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A discussion on the possibility is scheduled for the City Council’s informal meeting on Monday. It would take council approval to draft a firm proposal and submit it to FEMA.
FEMA put in 99 concrete shelters at places like the Officer Jeff Taylor and Hope Haven mobile home villages it set up as temporary housing for displaced tornado residents, at schools and other public buildings. The shelters are too large to be used for homes, but they still could be used by others, according Leslie Jones, the city finance director.
She said the shelters can be provided to local government after they are needed at the temporary locations. The city must come up with a proposed plan for use in order to obtain them.
The shelters are different sizes, ranging from ones that will hold 20 to 30 people to some with capacity for 50 or more people.
According to a staff memo prepared by Jones, the city is prohibited by its charter from giving anything to churches or faith-based schools.
She proposes a priority list that provide the shelters to local government, nursing homes, day care centers, assisted living homes, private non-faith based schools and lastly, businesses. Duquesne would be eligible as well as Joplin.
Jones said the city could use 20 of the shelters. They could be placed at City Hall, two fire stations that do not have shelters, the Joplin Athletic Complex, the Joplin Regional Airport, Schifferdecker Golf Course, the Public Works Center, the Police South Station, the Joplin Health Department, the parks and recreation office, the Joplin Senior Center, the Joplin Museum Complex and the Joplin Public Library.
She said there are six nursing homes in the city, and it would require 20 or so shelters to accommodate their residents.
The city did not have the number of assisted living homes that need shelters although one organization, Community Support Services, applied to the Joplin First Response Tornado Fund for funding to build shelters at three group homes.
FEMA would pay to move the shelters to government sites but it would cost about $1,000 each to move them to other sites, according to Jones.
Jones said there is no guarantee that the proposal would be approved by FEMA, but a plan must be devised and submitted to FEMA if the City Council believes they could be used locally.
There still is consideration for trying to find a way to help residents fund construction of storm shelters at homes.
The Joplin First Response Tornado Fund board was told last week that city officials are considering allocating $1.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds toward that goal. It likely would not be enough to help every household build a shelter, the board was told.
It is undetermined how that money would be allocated, although it was mentioned that if there is extensive interest, the city may have to ask people to register and then hold a public drawing to award it.
Agencies that have been helping people rebuild from the May 2011 tornado, such as Catholic Charities, have asked for grants from the fund to help their clients with the cost. No decision has been made.
Fund allocation
The Joplin First Response Fund Board of Trustees will meet Monday to begin deliberating how to distribute $350,000 to 19 applicants.
Local News
City of Joplin could acquire FEMA shelters
- Local News
-
-
Back on the books: Reassessment numbers reflect rebuilding after 2011 tornado
Owners of nearly 8,000 properties in Jasper County have been notified that the value of real property they own has increased, and rebuilding from the Joplin tornado represents a significant share of that number. Officials in the county assessor’s office recently mailed out notices of higher property values, raised as a result of countywide reassessment.
-
Council to hear public comments on recycling issue
A curbside recycling initiative that was defeated earlier this month will resurface tonight when several Joplin residents will ask for further consideration and two vendors will offer their services.
Representatives of two recycling businesses, one in Bentonville, Ark., and one in Tulsa, Okla., have filed requests to speak to the City Council. As of Friday morning, four residents also had submitted requests. -
Crop-duster takes to skies again after walking away from crash
RIVERTON, Kan. — Two minutes after John “Tim” Kellogg flew over his rural Cherokee County home and waved at his wife on their porch, the oil pressure in his crop-dusting plane dropped and the engine began smoking. “I knew I was going to be on the ground in 15 to 20 seconds, and I knew it was going to be a hard landing,” he said. A former mechanic on F-16s, F-15s and F-4s for the U.S. Air Force, Kellogg, 48, had to make a split-second decision.
-
UPDATED: Assault charges filed against man shot by police
Charges of first-degree assault on law enforcement officers have been filed against a Joplin man who attempted to run over two police officers during a traffic stop. During the attack, Joplin police officers fired and struck the man.
-
Susan Redden: Flanigan, Davis named to interim House committee
Two Joplin area representatives have been named to a committee that is to examine how effectively and efficiently state departments are operating. House Speaker Tim Jones recently announced the creation of the House Interim Committee on Government Responsiveness and Efficiency, and named as members Rep. Tom Flanigan, R-Carthage, and Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City.
-
Joplin to proceed with $130 million recovery plan, recycling election
The Joplin City Council on Monday night agreed to go forward with formal consideration of a $130 million recovery plan and revived a bill to hold an April vote of the people on the question of whether to institute curbside recycling.
-
Alcohol, speed suspected factors in fatal crash Saturday
The driver in a double-fatality accident Saturday in Joplin is suspected of having been intoxicated and speeding at almost twice the posted limit. He may also have been attempting a trick driving maneuver, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
-
Jo Ellis: Membership show expected to draw 80 entries to artCentral
I was disappointed that other commitments kept me from attending the special productions of “O’Keefe” at Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre this past weekend. I’ve heard reports that the one-woman show was exceptionally well-done by touring professional Carolyn Wickwire in the title role. Oh, well, maybe next time.
-
Andra Bryan Stefanoni: Mockingbird announces presence day and night as spring slides toward summer
PITTSBURG, Kan. — Before I relate how aggravated I was at a particular feathered friend in our backyard last week, I should note that my husband and I are dedicated birders who have done all sorts of things to attract them to our yard. We have a bluebird nesting box trail, a shelf of birding field guides and are avid readers of Audubon Magazine.
-
Mission No. 22: Son experiences flight with father
The engines on the B-17 rumble to life one after another. The smell of smoky oil filters into the radio room through the bomb bay doors. Overhead, cables vibrate like strings on a cello. The vibration intensifies and the plane lumbers forward to the runway. Before takeoff, the pilot stops the plane and puts it at full throttle. The massive propellers rock the plane. The plane is then thrust down the runway for a takeoff that is as smooth as silk.
- More Local News Headlines
-
