The Ellisville Board of Alderman awarded the contract for the city’s proposed community center/disaster shelter to Advanced Building Specialists of Petal during its board meeting Tuesday.

The company was among 11 to bid for the project that is funded by a $1 million Community Development Block Grant. Advanced made the lowest bid with $868,994 for the building and $32,944 for the parking lot.

“The building will serve as a community center for the citizens of Ellisville, as well as a Red Cross Shelter that will be used after disasters,” explained City Engineer Wiley Pickering. “It will be constructed at the intersection of Church Street and Poplar Street near the new library.”

The city does not currently have a community center. Mayor Tim Waldrup said it will be a great asset.

“The Red Cross helped us in drawing up the plans for this facility,” said Waldrup. “They will be able to store all the things they need here.

“We will have tables, chairs and other items that are needed in times of disaster. We will also have a commercial kitchen here and an emergency at the back of the building.”

Waldrup said community groups and organizations will be able to hold functions at the facility, but the first priority is the emergency shelter. The second priority is the library, which does not have enough specie to house its reading program.

“They will be able to hold the program at the community center since its nearby,” he said. “It should provide more than enough space for what they need.

He said the community center component is the last priority, stressing that the community center/disaster shelter is designed to be utilized by the entire community. Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin Dec. 1st.