The Ocosta School District celebrated the start of construction of its new elementary school with a groundbreaking ceremony last Thursday afternoon, Jan. 15. The history-making building will be first in the United States, and possibly in North America, to include a tsunami vertical evacuation structure on its roof large enough to accommodate up to 1,000 people.
School well represented
The three-part event started in the Ocosta Jr/Sr High School gym, with School Board President Debbie Carter-Bowhay welcoming district representatives that included fellow board members Greg Miller, Duane Pegg, Sabrina Perry and Steve Quincy; Ocosta School District Superintendent Dr. Paula Akerlund, Elementary School Principal Heather Sweet, Elementary Student Council President Kjirstin Hopfer, Vice President Izzy Arndt, Secretary Darci Perrette and Historian Garett Jones, along with all students from both 5th and 6th grade Ocosta Elementary School classes.
A large group of community members attended, including many who served on the communitywide Facilities Advisory Committee that spent several months leading the effort to determine facility needs at the new school and subsequently, the design concept for the new building for presentation to the School Board for approval.
Participating partners
Dr. Akerlund then gave a brief history of the process involved leading up to the current school construction project. She then recognized participating partners, including the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division that played a critical role in the development of the new school’s tsunami evacuation structure; Grays Harbor Emergency Management, the state Office of Public Instruction, Educational Service District 113, Educational Service District 112 - whose construction Services Group handles project management, the project’s architectural firm - TCF Architects, Degenkolb Engineers – project structural engineers, building contractor Integrity Structures, the City of Westport and the Shoalwater Bay Tribe Emergency Management Department.
Also present and recognized were community members Libby Cain and Trish Jones, co-chairs of the Citizens for Ocosta Schools, the community group formed in January of 2013 to promote the $13,800,000 construction bond for the new school. Voters approved that bond with a 70% favorable vote on April 23, 2013. The bond will be paid back over the next 20 years via increased property tax collection from those who reside within Ocosta School District boundaries.
Project Safe Haven
Akerlund then introduced state and national government representatives who attended the groundbreaking ceremony. Among them was Major Gen. Bret Daugherty, the Washington Adjutant General in charge of the Military Department, who spoke about Project Safe Haven, the seed from which the idea for the school’s vertical tsunami structure blossomed.
Project Safe Haven was a grassroots, community driven, public process that identified areas for future vertical evacuation structures. According to the Washington Military Department website, “Partnering with local residents, its mission was to develop a community responsive vertical evacuation strategy along the Washington coast. Initiated between 2010 and 2011, Project Safe Haven was a collaboration between the University of Washington and the Washington Emergency Management Division with assistance by FEMA, the state Department of Natural Resources and community stakeholders.”
Locally, Project Safe Haven studies resulted in the suggestion for an 11-foot berm built around the Ocosta School District campus, as well as independent tsunami evacuation towers at various other locations along the coastline in the South Beach community. In an effort to combat the high cost of those options, further discussions led to the suggestion that buildings constructed for other uses could include rooftop structures that serve as evacuation sites.
Taking that idea and running with it, Ocosta School District officials suggested the possibility of including a tsunami evacuation platform as a part of the district’s proposed new two-story elementary school.
Major Gen. Daugherty congratulated school district officials on their foresight and community members for their commitment to creating a vertical evacuation center and added that he hoped the Ocosta vertical evacuation site would serve to as an impetus for many more along the coast. He also read a congratulatory letter from state Governor Jay Inslee.
Aide Nicholas Carr represented U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer, reading a congratulatory letter from the Congressman. It said, in part, “This project shines a spotlight on the success of strategic partnerships. I am proud to have such a fine example of bold innovation and collaboration in the district I represent. Congratulations to Ocosta School District and to the community for breaking ground on a vital step in creating a safe and prosperous future for this community.”
Ted Boehner, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle also spoke at the ceremony. He attended on behalf of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan and National Weather Service Director Dr. Louis Cellini.
“NOAA and the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program are delighted to have played a role in helping to support the Ocosta School District achieve its goal of building the nation’s first tsunami vertical evacuation refuge,” he said.
Digging the dirt
Following the gathering in the gym, everyone trooped across the school campus to the worksite. The School Board members, Superintendent Akerlund and Principal Sweet picked up gold-painted shovels, along with giving the student council officers gold-painted clam digging tubes. In unison, they all turned symbolic shovelfuls of earth to officially mark this major milestone in Ocosta School District history.
A reception followed in the Jr/Sr High School Commons.
The new school addition is scheduled for completion in time to house students in late 2015.
