POLL: What Kind of Shelter Should Urbandale Build in Walker Johnston Park?

The 1958 shelter house at Walker Johnston Park is rustic. That is perhaps putting it kindly.

Formerly a family home that the city purchased when it was developing the park in the 1970s, the shelter house is a popular and inexpensive place that Urbandale residents can rent for family celebrations and meetings.

City Manager A.J. Johnson said city officials have been working toward building a new shelter house next year. 

Tonight, the is being asked to increase payment to the architects designing the new shelter. The cost increase would cover redrawing preliminary plans so they meet federal emergency shelter construction guidelines.

If the changes are approved, the building would cost $1.6 million.

Meeting those guidelines doubles the overall cost of the building, but would not increase the city's cost, Johnson said. The city council voted in May to pursue a federal grant for the more expensive building.

Johnson said the Federal Emergency Management Agency likely will provide about half the cost of building such a building, so the city's cost remains about $800,000.

As one of Urbandale's regional parks, Walker Johnston hosts dozens of youth sporting events every weekend and on weekdays, as well as city recreational programs such as tennis lessons.

Hundreds of people use the park during warm-weather weekends, and this building would be a safe storm and tornado shelter for up to 800 people at the park, he said. 

The building will have reinforced concrete walls, a concrete roof and shatterproof windows, he said. The city likely will hire a private security company so the building, which normally is locked, can remain open during park hours. This would ensure people can get into it in case of a tornado or storm.

Johnson said the benefit of the new design is a building that is structurally more sound, requires less maintenance and is less subject to ravages of weather, for the same amount of money the city would have spent on a lesser building.

"We're constantly looking for ways to leverage our resources to get something better for the community," he said. "And you can have a very significant impact on protecting lives." 

He added that the city also intends to use LED lighting and energy conservation construction techniques and materials to minimize energy costs.