SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A second storm shelter is being added to Scott County, which will be located near the densely populated Sawyier Pointe Mobile Home Park, and it will more than double the number of people who can access an emergency shelter in the area.
The new $165,000 facility will be built next to an existing shelter along Reno Drive near Lisle Road. Together, the two structures will be able to accommodate more than 200 people.
Scott County Emergency Management Director Michael Hennigan said the shelters serve a critical need for the roughly 400 residents of the Sawyier Pointe Mobile Home Park, though even with the addition, the combined capacity will cover only about half of those residents. Hennigan said that is why the county emphasizes having a plan before severe weather strikes.
"If you can go to a well-built place, go and take advantage of that, and leave this for the people that are caught in that emergency," Hennigan said.
The county currently operates two heavy-duty tornado shelters — one in Stamping Ground and the existing shelter on Reno Drive.
Hennigan said the design of the new shelter reflects lessons learned from the existing one. The current shelter runs on solar power, but the new facility will not.
"We found that it doesn't work well for this particular situation, so we're going to a different electric system with the generator backup," Hennigan said.
The generator backup is intended to keep the shelter operational if it is needed for an extended period of time.
Paul Carrico, who lives across the street on the other side of the mobile home park, said he has not been able to use the existing shelter in the past.
"No, because it was too full," Carrico said.
Carrico said a second shelter on Reno Drive should help address that problem.
Looking ahead, Hennigan said he would like to see more shelters built in the future, including near parks and ballfields, to give people a safe place to go in an emergency
