Lt. Governor's Office - 04/26/2022
BARDSTOWN / HODGENVILLE, Ky. (April 26, 2022) – Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman presented $1,773,262 today for infrastructure improvements in Nelson and LaRue counties.
The funding comes from three different grant programs – the
Better Kentucky Plan’s Cleaner Water Program, the Department for Local Government’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
“These exciting projects are going to support school safety, tourism, cleaner water and sports facilities for our kids,”
Gov. Andy Beshear said. “When we invest in our students, our families and our communities, we build a better Kentucky and an even brighter future.”
“These awards will bring additional visitors to this region, and they’ll keep some of our youngest learners safe around their school,”
Lt. Gov. Coleman said. “They also help us make sure all our Kentucky families have access to clean water – a basic human right. This is what Kentuckians in Nelson and LaRue counties, and across the commonwealth, deserve.”
Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and administered by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA), $250 million was appropriated through a bipartisan agreement at the close of the 2021 General Assembly for clean drinking water and wastewater grants to fund projects across Kentucky.
The Lincoln Trail Area Development District submitted Cleaner Water Program funding requests for LaRue County to the KIA.
Nelson CountyIn Bardstown, Lt. Gov. Coleman presented $1,119,480 for two TAP projects in Nelson County, including:
• $830,400 to the City of Bardstown to design and construct a new sidewalk on Templin Avenue that connects to a current sidewalk project on Chambers Boulevard. This new sidewalk will be near the new Bardstown Elementary School that is scheduled to open this fall. The current Chambers Boulevard sidewalk project was funded by KYTC as part of Gov. Beshear’s $23 million statewide commitment to improve transportation safety near schools. Students and local residents will now have a safe route to walk or bike to school or to nearby businesses and homes, reducing pollution and improving health; and
• $289,080 to the City of New Haven for the Kentucky Railway Museum (KRM)’s Kentucky Club Car Project, which will restore a unique, classic rail club car, built in 1926 and converted into a tavern car in 1954. The car will be used for KRM excursions, including to the new Log Still Distillery and other special events. KRM provides rides to visitors of all ages, including those with mobility constraints. The museum hosts 30,000 to 35,000 visitors each year.
KRM Executive Director and Board President Greg Mathews shared more details on the importance of the restoration.
“On behalf of the Kentucky Railway Museum Inc. (KRM) and New Haven, Kentucky, the headquarters of KRM, I am pleased that we have the opportunity with this TAP grant to preserve and restore the historic former Louisville and Nashville Tavern Lounge Car ‘The Kentucky Club.’”
He continued: “The Club along with its sister cars, The Tennessee Club and Alabama Club, traveled the rails of the L&N railroad on their premier trains for many years. Bringing this car back to life and functioning will be a boon and asset for the museum, City of New Haven, Nelson County, the commonwealth and for KRM’s partner of Log Still Distillery and the Dant Family. It will entertain the public and serve as a tourist magnet and a strong economic development tool showcasing the museum, bourbon industry and more. We can’t wait to get the car done and back in service on the rails of Kentucky!”
“I’m excited these two projects are moving forward. I have worked with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for some time to accrue funds for these projects,”
Senate Transportation Chairman Sen. Jimmy Higdon added. “This is good news for the Kentucky Railway Museum, the City of Bardstown, and Bardstown City Schools.”
“Our goal is to help make travel in our growing community safer and healthier, and the funding is a huge boost to improving connectivity throughout a developing area,”
Rep. Chad McCoy, who represents Nelson County, said. “This is a great opportunity to improve traffic safety and public accessibility for our children at the new Bardstown City School. I’m excited to see how this new connection will benefit us in so many ways.”
LaRue CountyIn Hodgenville, Lt. Gov. Coleman awarded $653,782 for three projects in LaRue County, including:
• $285,531 in Cleaner Water Program funding to LaRue County Water District No. 1 for the Buffalo Water Tank Rehabilitation Project. The 97,000 gallon standpipe tank, located on College Street, is the oldest tank in the district’s system. It requires some major repairs including: sand blasting and painting the interior and exterior of the tank, sealing the base of the tank along the foundation and replacing connecting waterlines and the adding a new valve vault in the tank vicinity. Additionally, this project will add telemetry to the tank to ensure more efficient operations of the tank and allow the system to better manage water needs within the system;
• $243,251 in Cleaner Water Program funding to the City of Hodgenville for improvements at Smith Plaza Tower. The city will clean the tower; complete a number of repairs, including replacing vents, safety rails and manway, installing a security ladder gate, affixing a dome ladder, replacing a float and level transducer and replacing interior ladder; and it will repaint the north (Smith Plaza) tank to keep it in operational shape for the foreseeable future. The project will provide 24 hour storage capacity and water quality; and
• $125,000 to the City of Hodgenville from the LWCF. Hodgenville will use the funds to resurface five existing and two new ballfields, install new fencing on two ballfields, refurbish six dugouts and construct a new parking lot.
“While the legislature has had a plate full of priorities, we kept vital infrastructure updates like funding for the Cleaner Water Project at the top of our minds,” Rep. Brandon Reed, whose district includes LaRue County, said. “The federal relief funds that my colleagues and I have fought to attain will create a generational impact here in Hodgenville. I’m thankful for the General Assembly’s commitment to providing significant resources here in our community so that all of us have clean drinking water and updated waste infrastructure.”
“Appropriations set aside by our state government for smaller communities like Hodgenville and LaRue County are so vital in keeping the infrastructure serving its citizens,” LaRue County Judge/Executive Blake Durrett said. “It’s been proven the expanse of public water in the commonwealth has directly contributed to increased levels of health. I’m thankful for leaders like Gov. Beshear and Lt. Governor Coleman who realize the importance of quality public water infrastructure. I’m also humbled they would take time out of their schedules to personally come visit us and deliver such exciting news.”
About the Cleaner Water ProgramMore than $159 million has been awarded to grantees to fund transformative projects since the call for projects was announced June 1. Eligible government agencies, such as city-owned water or sewer utilities, water commissions, water and sewer districts and counties, collaborated with their local Area Development Districts and Area Water Management Councils to submit projects for Cleaner Water Program funding. There are 713 public drinking water and wastewater utilities in Kentucky.
Cleaner Water Program funding is allocated in three ways:
• $150 million based on each county’s proportion of the state’s population, with the exception of Jefferson County’s share, which is discounted by 50% based on its high per capita allocation from the federal act. A list of the allocations by county can be found
here.
• $50 million is available for utilities to provide drinking water services to unserved, rural customers or to utilities under a federal consent decree. The KIA shall consider social, economic and environmental benefits in determining the allocations.
• $49.9 million is available to supplement a project grant for a project with a cost in excess of a county’s allocation amount and other available grant sources. The social, economic and environmental benefits shall be considered in determining project allocations. KIA will receive $75,000 to administer the grant program.
The application deadline was Nov. 19, 2021; however, KIA will make awards continuously throughout the year. All grant awardees must obligate the funds by Dec. 31, 2024.
The American Society of Civil Engineers in 2019 projected that Kentucky faces nearly $14.5 billion in water/wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years, including over $8.2 billion in drinking water upgrades and $6.2 billion in sewer system improvements.
Information about the Cleaner Water Program, as well as grants for broadband expansion, school facility upgrades and vocational education center renovations, can be found at
governor.ky.gov/BetterKy.
About the Land and Water Conservation FundThe LWCF provides federal grant funds to protect important natural areas, acquire land for outdoor recreation and to develop or renovate public outdoor recreation facilities such as campgrounds, picnic areas, sports and playfields, swimming facilities, boating facilities, fishing facilities, trails, natural areas and passive parks. To receive the federal funds, which are administered at the state level by the Department for Local Government, selected applicants must undergo federal review and receive approval from the National Park Service.
About the Transportation Alternatives ProgramTAP is a federally funded reimbursement program administered through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Local Programs. Funding supports non-motorized forms of transportation to improve connectivity, accessibility, safety and equity in communities. Transportation projects commonly include bicycle and pedestrian pathways, ADA compliance, Safe Routes to School and wildlife mitigation. The program covers 80% of the project cost.
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