Construction of a first of its kind storm shelter for the city of Bakersfield is underway.
Bakersfield school officials and board members, with representatives from Springfield-based construction and architectural companies, staged a groundbreaking event Thursday for the schools new storm shelter.
Bakersfield Superintendent Amy Britt says the school district secured the large majority of funding via a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Britt says the district started the grant application in 2003, finalized it in 2013 and applied for funding in 2014. The initial application was denied, but the district kept it active, resulting in FEMA approving the request in 2016 and the Bakersfield School District being awarded a grant.
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The storm shelter will cost $1.39 million with 75 percent of the cost funded by the FEMA grant and the remaining 25 percent by the school district.
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In addition to being a safe room for students during school hours, the structure, with a capacity for 480 people, will be available 24/7 to residents of the community during inclement weather. The school has an emergency plan designating people who will open the facility when a storm warning is issued for the area.
The shelter’s expected completion date is November 2018.
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