With the Foley City Council approving the contract and allocating the funds, work will soon begin on a new Safe Room for Foley’s first responders. The purpose of the safe room is to protect the crews during hurricanes and other major emergencies. The project has been in the planning stages since 2020. A construction contract is now in place. The facility is a significant resource in improving the city’s storm readiness.

Last week, the Foley City Council approved a $3.72 million contract with Roy Lewis Construction to build the Safe Room. The company submitted the lowest bid out of 11 firms competing for the job. City officials had initially expected the project to cost around $5.7 million. The lower price surprised city leaders and came in under their projections.

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Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the cost difference is a welcome development for Foley. “We, the architects and everybody, thought it was going to be $5.7 million. So this is really good news,” Hellmich said. He added that the project has been in the works for years. “This has been a long time coming. We're really excited about it,” the mayor said.

A grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay most of the project’s cost. Local officials said the federal support enabled Foley to proceed with a Safe Room of this size and strength.

Plans call for the shelter to hold more than 200 people during a hurricane. The building will be constructed to withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour. That strength is intended to provide first responders with a secure operating environment, even in the most dangerous parts of a storm.

The Safe Room will also be equipped with a 400-kilowatt generator that can run on either natural gas or diesel fuel. That power source is expected to keep the lights on and systems working if regular electric service fails. The building will include kitchen facilities and other features needed to house personnel during an extended emergency.

The facility will be built on city-owned property on North Poplar Street. The site is north of the new Public Works campus, now under construction, and south of East Berry Avenue. City officials say the location will place the Safe Room near other key departments and facilitate coordination of emergency responses.

In addition to serving as a shelter, the Safe Room can also function as a command post. If other city facilities are damaged or unusable during a storm or other disaster, officials will be able to manage operations from the new building. Leaders say that flexibility will be important if Foley faces a major hurricane or similar event in the future.