Pulaski County could soon begin work to provide added safety for several of its departments in the event of a weather emergency.
During Monday night’s County Commissioners meeting, Chair of the County Safety Committee Nikki Lowry, provided updates on a tornado drill conducted last week. She says the drill was successful with near 100-percent participation.
Still, there were some issues that were identified, according to Lowry.
“We’re kind of vulnerable out there if a tornado hits,” says Lowry. “So we, as a committee, started looking into shelters.”
The Safety Committee is now considering tornado shelters for a couple of its departments.
There are different shelters available for different situations. For instance, some being considered are placed underground with a ground level access point. Those would not work at the County Recycling and Transfer station which experiences problems with water and other flooding.
The committee members were looking for direction from the Commissioners for how to proceed. Tornado shelters may incur a cost if grant funds are unavailable. Commissioner Terry Young says he has entered a shelter before and says they provide a comfortable space.
“These wouldn’t fit into every location, but there’s a place in Cloverdale that handles these,” says Young. “They’re plastic instead of fiberglass. Just a little bit sticks out above the ground, there are stairs and then there’s circle seating. There are different sizes, I’m sure.”
The committee will continue considerations with a presentation and price estimates anticipated in the future.
The County Commissioners gave the go ahead to continue researching the proposal prior to any final votes.
