FOLEY - The Foley City Council approved two grant applications for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) during the Dec. 20 meeting. Both grant applications were presented to Baldwin EMA as potential projects that, if awarded, would be funded by the mitigation funds. The larger application was for structural strengthening at Fire Station One.
“We’ve had several conversations, even prior to Hurricane Sally, on how to potentially strengthen Fire Station One,” said Fire Chief Joey Darby. “It was originally built as a warehouse for Gulf Telephone Company, so not built and designed as a fire station.”
Darby said while the building has seen numerous renovations over the years, it has no structural rating. During Hurricane Sally, the building lost a large door due to the winds, and Darby said he feared there was the potential to lose a portion of the building. While the building remained standing, he wants to see it improved.
“What this grant application is for is structural strengthening of the building with an engineering design that would hopefully get us to the point where they could rate the building,” Darby said. “We had enough damage in Sally that we had an insurance claim to replace the roof, but what this grant would do is when we peel that roof off it would allow us to go in the roof structure and add structural support in the roof, and then add structural support in the wall structure, and there are some door changes.”
He said his goal is to get the building rated to withstand 140 mile per hour winds. There is a 25% match required if the grant is awarded. Along with protection of personnel, Darby said there’s also an equipment aspect to strengthening the building.
“There’s a substantial amount of equipment, beyond just protecting personnel,” he said. “Yes, we have a safe room hopefully coming to take care of those personnel in high level storms, but we have a tremendous investment of equipment that’s sitting in that building. Hopefully, we can get to the point where we feel comfortable with it being protected over there, too.”
The smaller of the two projects applied for is a generator for the Public Works Department that would handle electrical needs during storm situations, including the city’s fuel station.