$800K grant approved for Fairfield Beach shelter
WALNUT TOWNSHIP – The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday approved an $800,000 grant to build a $1 million community tornado shelter in Fairfield Beach.
There is a $200,000 match requirement of which the state is providing $100,000 and local funds will comprise $100,000.
Township road superintendent Tim Morris and Fairfield County Emergency Management Agency Director Jon Kochis are in charge of the construction.
Morris said the shelter is needed because houses in the area do not have basements residents can shelter in during severe weather. The community shelter will provide that for them. The shelter will go in the parking lot besides the soccer fields at Fairfield Beach Family Park at 5032 Beaver Drive.
Kochis said the shelter could be ready by the end of next year, but that the township has two years to complete it.
“Obviously, construction prices are up due to COVID,” he said. “So it may be advantageous to bid this in the fall when maybe we’re a little beyond COVID.”
The circular shelter will look like an igloo and be similar to two shelters in Delaware County and two in Licking County.
It will have an 84-foot diameter at the bottom and will be about 5,000 square feet in total.
Kochis said it should hold 950 people during a severe weather event.
“This community tornado shelter will be a tremendous asset for the residents of Fairfield Beach,” county commissioner Dave Levacy said.
“We would like to thank the Ohio Department of Public Safety and FEMA for this grant.”