Governor Beshear Presents Over $2.5 Million in Grants to Benefit Rowan County

Rowan County has a lot to celebrate! Governor Andy Beshear announced more than $2.5 million in funding for Rowan County, to support our local airport, tourism, economic development, new senior center building, Clearfork Road, safe household hazardous waste disposal, and recycling. Governor Beshear said, “This is what we can do when we come together to build a better Kentucky.” We look forward to the long-term benefits this funding will bring to our community.

Rowan County Senior Center Award: $750,000 from the Community Development Block Grant program to support the construction of a new Senior Center building. This will be the first time in our history that Rowan County has had a dedicated senior center. We’re truly grateful for the state’s support in bringing this much-needed development to our community. The Rowan County Senior Center offers essential services to seniors, providing them a place to gather, promoting health and nutrition, offering information for independent living and delivering social outreach services. The new building, which will span nearly 6,000 square feet, will be located at 740 Clearfield Street and will meet all Americans with Disabilities Act and Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. We want to acknowledge and appreciate the hardworking individuals and state officials who worked tirelessly to make this project a reality.

Transportation Award: The Governor awarded $252,000 to Rowan County Fiscal Court to resurface all of Clearfork Road. This is the first time in over 10 years that work has been done to improve this road.

Kentucky Product Development Initiative Funding: $600,000 for future industrial development on Rodney Hitch Boulevard, in partnership with Morehead-Rowan County Economic Development Council and Rowan County Fiscal Court.

Energy and Environment Cabinet Awards: $9,500 funding will support efforts to help Rowan County residents safely dispose of household hazardous waste.

Cybersecurity Grant Award: $67,000 to the Rowan County Fiscal Court to support cybersecurity and information technology in Rowan County.

There were several other grants that will also benefit our community:

Expansion of Morehead-Rowan County Regional Airport: $648,000 to the Morehead-Rowan County Regional Airport to help plan, design and construct a new apron, an area where aircraft are parked. The funding comes from the Department of Aviation.

Tourism Marketing Funding: $207,467 to Morehead-Rowan County Tourism to support travel marketing and promotion and to attract meetings and conventions, distributed from the Kentucky Department of Tourism.

Morehead-Rowan-MSU Community Recycling Center: $204,000 to support the cost of a shredder/baler combo, conveyor w/ hopper to feed vertical shredding, (4) 2 yard hippo hoppers, (4) cardboard bins, 72’ forks for forklift, and advertising funds.

The state’s assistance has enabled us to make significant progress on various initiatives by the Fiscal Court that will lead to the prosperity of Rowan Countians.

This article originally appeared in the August ‘23 Edition of the Rowan Review. To subscribe to this free monthly newsletter and receive these articles straight into your email inbox, visit rcky.us/review.