The Town’s emergency shelter is on the move, thanks, in part, to a new $1 million grant awarded from the federal Community Project Funding program. Officials will use the funds to purchase and install a new high-capacity generator and relocate the shelter.

First Selectman Peggy Lyons, Emergency Management Director Sam DeBurra, and Senator Richard Blumenthal announced receipt of the grant at a press conference on Jan. 30. According to DeBurra, the funding allows the Town to act upon the results of a 2020 facilities study which identified a lack of amenities at the current emergency shelter at Town Campus.

“The study looked at all of the existing sites [in town] and identified Polson [Middle] School as a potential site to use as a shelter. However, a lack of an emergency backup generator there was prohibitive in moving the shelter over to that location,” said DeBurra. “I’d like to thank Senator Blumenthal for securing the funding to put the new generator in at the school. This will allow us to provide a lot more capabilities to residents during a storm.”

The pending Polson renovations will incorporate the new generator, allowing the school to be used for residents in the event of an emergency. The shelter will be stocked with blankets, cots, cooking equipment, and a place for residents to shower.

According to Lyons, over the last decade, storms have underlined the necessity of updating the Town’s emergency preparedness. She

“In coastal communities in Connecticut, like Madison, continue to experience very severe storm-related events,” Lyons said. “It requires us to provide services to our community. While every storm is unique, they can result in extensive loss of electricity, life-threatening flooding, and significant damage to our critical infrastructure. We are required to prepare and protect our most vulnerable residents from these events. So, the Town has to offer an adequate facility that provides these services.”

Lyons pointed to recent December storms that left nearly 80 percent of Madison’s residents without power for up to seven days.

“A lot of our residents are on wells, so their well pumps don’t work when you lose power. They can’t charge a phone, so they have no ability to communicate. They can’t cook a meal, and they can’t take a shower,” Lyons said. “This situation just occurred on Dec. 23, where thousands of Madison residents incurred coastal flooding because of the storm and loss of power due to high winds. This was combined with frigid temperatures.”

In addition to power outages, Lyons also noted that due to the town’s coastal location occasionally requires residents to evacuate to higher ground.

“(W)e have also had to issue mandatory evacuation orders for some parts of our community along the coastal areas, so we have an obligation to provide a safe and comfortable place for those affected to ride out the storm,” said Lyons.

Blumenthal applauded Town officials to looking to prepare for future incidents.

“The leadership and community that is here, visible today, cares for its residents and devotes itself to preparing for the future,” said Blumenthal. “Madison is showing Connecticut that we need to prepare for these horrific storms that have become the new normal. The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining. The time to prepare for emergencies is when we have calm, placid weather, but we know these storms will be hitting the Connecticut coast, and residents in Madison and across the shoreline are going to need adequate shelters. The necessity for this kind of action is more urgent than ever before. We wanted to make sure that Madison got what it needed to install a generator at this school that will help people when they are most vulnerable. Because we know a monster storm is eventually coming. That is what communities do when they care about their residents.”