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It Won’t Be Long Now
- Updated: August 19, 2016
LA FERIA SHELTER DOME nearing completion. Photos: Bill Keltner/LFN
Shelter Dome Nearing Completion
Bill Keltner
The construction of the beautiful, new La Feria Dome Project is nearing completion as workers rush to complete the huge parking area which will soon be available to frightened local people seeking shelter from future tropical storms and flooding. Many will have no other place to go. This welcome structure was funded and designed especially for those citizens.
City Secretary and Interim City Manager Esmeralda Sanchez said that most of the construction work on the dome itself is practically complete.
“The work now consists of finishing all the inside details and installing the advanced systems required to make this dome a safe haven for our citizens,” she said.
“It won’t be long now; we’ll soon be able to give everyone the date for the grand opening and declare it ready for occupancy.”
Sanchez told LA FERIA NEWS that the dome was funded by the Texas Safe Shelter Initiative (TSSI). That state agency was in turn administered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). The ultimate provider of funds for the local and state entities was FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Sanchez added that 25% of the money was provided locally.
This ambitious construction project included provisions for the new administration and teaching facility of Our Lady of the Lake University. The OLLU building will have office and meeting spaces available to the city of La Feria as needed.
“The facility will therefore serve both the needs of the university and the city,” the city secretary stated.
Patricia Longoria, Director OLLU, and Esmeralda Sanchez, City Secretary/Interim City Manager inspect progress on Shelter Dome. Photos: Bill Keltner/LFN
Patricia Longoria, Director of the OLLU/RGV campus, praised the collaboration between the officers of the university and the city administration.
“We needed to expand from our limited, current facility in the city because of the demand of students coming from all over the Rio Grande Valley,” she added.
“We draw enrollees from Rio Grande City to Port Isabel. We will be able to serve the entire Valley from this La Feria campus.”
“Everybody wants to know the date for the official opening of the dome,” Secretary Sanchez said. “That will depend on when we finally get certified for occupancy by a clearance from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.”
