On Sept. 15, a memorandum of understanding was finalized between Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith, Bradford County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Chris Dougherty, Bradford County Fair Association President Warren Carver, and Bradford County Fair Association Manager Dale Woodruff regarding use of fair association facilities for emergency management activities.
In 2019, the fair association completed construction on the new livestock pavilion, a 9,440 square-foot facility that was built to ICC-500 and Florida Building Code standards to be used as a public shelter during emergencies, including hurricanes.
The facility is rated to house 367 occupants when used as a public shelter.
Following the construction, the fair association and the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Division worked together to have the building surveyed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross for use as a hurricane shelter.
The completion of this project allows the sheriff’s office, which is responsible for the county’s emergency management operations, to use the facility as a shelter. Director Brad Witt emphasized the importance of completing this project, stating, “By taking this step, we are providing more shelter space for our residents during large-scale, long-term emergencies. In fact, our partnership with the fair association will show a major improvement on Florida’s Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan. Prior to completing this, Bradford County was listed as having a deficit of 300 square feet of shelter space in the 2020 plan. By partnering with the fair association, Bradford County will reflect a surplus of public shelter space.”
Following the signing, Sheriff Smith said, “I am thankful for our partnership with the fair association. By being able to use their beautiful new facility, our team will be better able to serve the citizens of Bradford while reducing interruptions to our school system”.
