Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday over $15 million in funding for infrastructure and education in Northern Kentucky.
“Today’s awards will help our students, our seniors and everyone in between,” Beshear said. “World-class companies are choosing Kentucky because of our world-class workforce, and that means we have to keep investing in education, as well as our infrastructure and support for families, to make Kentucky an even better place to live and work.”
Here is how the awards, which total $15,663,176, break down by county:
Boone County
Beshear granted $4,763,200 to Boone County Schools through the Better Schools Program. The funding will be used to renovate, expand and add programming at the Ignite Institute in Erlanger.
Campbell County
The Northern Kentucky Water District will receive $1 million to support nearly four miles of waterline extension that will bring clean water service to 56 households for the first time.
Newport Independent Schools is receiving $2.1 million to renovate the high school’s graphic arts, art and Mac lab and create a space for the new culinary pathway program.
The City of Newport is receiving $764,560 to rehabilitate the Grand Towers Senior Housing multi-family housing building. The rehab will include the replacement of two elevators that provide handicapped accessibility for residents. Upon completion, the new elevators will provide the residents with safe and adequate transportation for a population in need of handicapped accessible facilities.
“The funding announced today will help us better serve the senior citizens of Newport,” Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said. “The new elevators at Grand Towers will provide handicapped accessibility, a must-have in a building serving senior residents. Newport is an inclusive city, and we want to thank Gov. Beshear for working with us on this project.”
“The funding announced today will help us better serve the senior citizens of Newport,” said Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. “The new elevators at Grand Towers will provide handicapped accessibility, a must-have in a building serving senior residents. Newport is an inclusive city, and we want to thank Gov. Beshear for working with us on this project.”
Kenton County
Covington Independent Schools was awarded $4,925,000 to renovate the Chapman Vocational Center, including renovating the restrooms, replacing the lockers, replacing the electric system and renovating the science labs.
The City of Fort Mitchell is receiving $910,000 for the Fort Mitchell Redwood School and Rehabilitation Center Project, which provides educational, therapeutic and vocational services to adults with severe disabilities. The funding will be used to update the building to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes installing new sinks and washing stations, adding easily sanitized flooring, renovating unused space to allow for social distancing and installing a new filtration system for purifying the air.
Kenton County is receiving $155,116 to repurpose waste tires and apply a new thin asphalt overlay layer onto county roads. Thin asphalt overlays utilizing rubber-modified asphalt have been shown to reduce noise, are more resistant to cracking and rutting, and increase the life of the roadway by 7 to 10 years.
Finally, the Northern Kentucky Water District will receive $1 million to support a five-mile waterline extension that will bring clean water service to 81 households for the first time.
“Local Area Vocational Education Centers are important links from our public schools to the employers where skilled crafts are really in need,” said Rep. Buddy Wheatley of Covington. “This investment in Covington Independent Schools will further develop a workforce pipeline that pays long term dividends for our kids.”