Facility projects were reviewed at the Webster City School Board meeting Monday night.

One project, in particular, may change the high school's center courtyard into an indoor training facility and weight room.

Webster City Schools would like to create FEMA storm shelters for the High School, Pleasant View Elementary and Sunset Heights Elementary, according to Superintendent Mike Sherwood. The middle school already has facilities that are deemed safe, he noted.

The school system is in the preliminary stages of the application process for the FEMA grant, which is available through a competitive process, Sherwood said. Concept designs are being drawn out for the application.

Sherwood said plans prepared for the high school's inner courtyard are to create a shelter capable of holding approximately 3500 people. This number would ensure that the High School would be capable of safely holding large numbers of people that would be expected to turn out for events.

This shelter would be an indoor training facility that could house indoor tennis courts, basketball courts and even batting cages, the superintendent said. A free weights training facility would also be in this complex as well as new restrooms and storage.

Pleasant View's storm shelter design would add two new kindergarten rooms. These classrooms will be located below the existing parking lot.

Two new classrooms would possibly be added to Sunset Heights Elementary, and could house a new music room, art room or computer lab. This addition would be on the northwest section of the property.

At the present time, the cost for all three projects is estimated to be about $11-12 million dollars. The FEMA grant would pay for 75 percent, the State would pay 10 percent and the local district would pay 15 percent, Sherwood noted.

It would most likely be another 2 or 2 1/2 years until groundbreaking would be started for any of these facilities, as these plans are still in preliminary stages., according to Sherwood.

Contact Carrie Olson at lifestyles@freemanjournal.net or call 832-4350,