The decision was finalized Tuesday night that there will be no provisions made for a "hardened" area in the new Page Middle School for use as a community shelter during hurricanes and other weather-related emergencies.

No motion was made by any member of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors during a joint meeting with the Gloucester County School Board at Gloucester High School, leaving the $300,000 option for an emergency shelter dead in the water.

Supervisors authorized the school board last fall to have included in its engineering costs for the Page project an alternative to what it would cost to harden the walls and make a provision for a generator in the structure of the building.

The proposed hardening of the walls would allow the structure to withstand winds of a Category 2 hurricane.

"I was surprised when I saw this on the plate again," said York district supervisor Carter Borden. He said he thought the decision was made last fall and that the engineering costs ...