Jul 31, 2008

The Ava Public Schools' new performing arts center/storm shelter will soon be under roof. Last Thursday, KCI Construction, of Lebanon, general contractor on the project, brought in an 85-ton crane to lift the two huge beams into place over the auditorium section of the building. With those in place, the cross beams were set, and the roof is now being put in place. Project superintendent Mike Steinbach said once the building is under roof, the work on the project will go much faster because workers will not be hampered by weather which was such a factor this spring. The largest of the two main support beams was put in place first and had to go in from the open front wall on the west side. Steinbach explained that the 16,000-pound beam, which is more than 51/2 feet tall, could not be lifted over the wall even with the gigantic crane, because of its weight. With that beam in place, the crane was repositioned on the north side of the building and the second smaller beam, weighing about 14,000 pounds, according to Steinbach, was lifted over the wall and maneuvered into place. The setting of those two beams became about a 3-hour process, but once in place they fit like a glove. The performing arts center, which is funded in part by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will double as a storm shelter for the community. With 18-inch, double block walls filled with concrete and steel, the building is designed to withstand 250 mile-per-hour winds which would be an EF-05 category tornado, according to Ron Tost, EMA director for Ava/Douglas County. Although some amendments have been approved, the original quoted cost of the building was around $2.6 million, with the school district providing about $665,000. The main auditorium will include theater-type seating for approximately 500 people. The auditorium also features a slanted floor and large stage, with acoustically perfect sound projection. In addition to the auditorium, there will be three classrooms for band, vocal music and drama, as well as storage area. In all, the facility is designed to accommodate about 3,000 people in the event of a natural disaster. A large generator designed to run the facility makes the building completely self-sustaining