The West Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies, or SAFE, fund is getting an additional $3.3 million.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced the funding Wednesday during his weekly press conference. It will go to the City of Mayfield and Fulton County, as well as several eligible utilities, to help with strained fiscal liquidity and costs associated with damages sustained in the December 2021 tornadoes.
“While our people in Eastern Kentucky are currently facing the tragic loss of precious lives taken too soon and homes swept off their foundations, we must also continue to support our communities in Western Kentucky that are still actively cleaning up from the devasting tornadoes that struck just two short weeks before Christmas,” Beshear said. “We will continue to be with these communities as they continue to clean up and rebuild in the months and even years to come.”
SAFE Fund awards announced today include:
- Fulton County will receive $257,311 to help with strained fiscal liquidity, paving costs and FEMA-ineligible debris removal.
- The City of Mayfield has been approved for more than $2.4 million in assistance for FEMA-ineligible debris removal, hauling expenses and tipping fees.
- The Marshall County Refuse District will receive $35,000 in financial assistance to support needed repairs to roads damaged by debris removal trucks.
- The North Marshall Water District has been approved for $400,000 in assistance to help repair damaged underground waterlines that are ineligible for FEMA assistance.
- The Princeton Electric Plant Board will receive $110,000 in local FEMA match funds and financial assistance for interest due on loans taken to ease strained fiscal liquidity.
- Salt River RECC has been awarded nearly $90,000 in funding to cover FEMA ineligible expenses for the replacement of utility poles, lines and equipment, as well as personnel costs associated with the utility’s emergency response following the tornadoes.
Since early May, Beshear has announced millions in Western Kentucky SAFE funding. Beshear recommended the appropriation for the SAFE fund, and the 2022 General Assembly supported the aid by passing Senate Bill 150, which the governor signed into law in April.
“We have not turned down any eligible application that has come. We have granted all of them,” Beshear said. “I do believe there will be more over time.”