Thanks, but no thanks.
That’s the message Bassett Mayor Larry Crawford had for commissioners when it came to the offer to put a storm shelter in his community.
Commissioners agreed to buy five shelters for Petrolia, Elsmore, Mildred and Savonburg (which would get two because it is divided by a railroad). They also want to put one near a neighborhood in northwest Iola, and considered buying another for Bassett.
But there isn’t a place to put it, Crawford said.
Nearly all of the land in the vicinity is privately owned, and none of the landowners wanted a public storm shelter on their property, he said. They were concerned about the possibility of vandalism and who would be responsible for making sure it was available when needed.
Commissioners suggested putting it on property near a county-owned shop, but it is in a flood plain.
Crawford said residents weren’t fond of that idea either, even if it could be elevated out of the flood plain. Most residents would still have to drive to the shelter, and they remained concerned about the possibility of flooding.
SHELTERS dominated much of the discussion at Tuesday’s county commission meeting.
In addition to Crawford, commissioners heard from Thrive Allen County’s CEO Lisse Regher about paying for the shelters with money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
That’s possible, Regher told them.
Storm shelters used only for that purpose wouldn’t qualify for ARPA funds.
But if you can justify the use as somehow related to COVID, they would.
“Part of it is, how do you address a pandemic in the future,” Regher said.
For example, if the shelters were used as a vaccination site, they would qualify.
That’s easy enough to arrange, Commissioners Jerry Daniels and David Lee said.
