Funding supports access to clean water, tourism marketing and local nonprofits

Ashland, KY – On Jan 30th, Governor Andy Beshear presented $4.1 million to local governments, utilities, tourism agencies and nonprofits in Boyd County as part of his commitment to improve infrastructure and invest in communities across the commonwealth.

Funding comes from the Better Kentucky Plan’s Cleaner Water Program and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

“Clean water is a basic human right,” Gov. Beshear said. “As Governor, and also as a dad, I want to make sure all of our families can turn on their faucets and know that water is safe to give their children. That’s exactly why we’re here in Ashland today, and we’re also providing funding to boost tourism in this region and support 13 local nonprofits.”

Cleaner Water Program Awards
Gov. Beshear announced the commitment of $2.9 million in Cleaner Water Program funds to projects in Boyd County:

City of Ashland

• $719,000 to replace an aging section of water main that serves downtown Ashland and Catlettsburg.
• $300,000 to improve two aging pump stations and to add a new pump station.

“Investing in our water system is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” Mayor Matt Perkins said. “These projects will benefit our citizens in their daily lives. When businesses look to move here, we will have reliable infrastructure ready and waiting for them.”

City of Catlettsburg

• $150,000 for system-wide pump station improvements.

“Catlettsburg is thankful for the grants,” Mayor Faith Day said. “These grants are crucial to Catlettsburg for repairing our sewer infrastructure, and the partnership with the State of Kentucky has allowed us to fix our infrastructure without passing the cost onto our citizens during these struggling economic times.”

Cannonsburg Water District

• $656,599 to replace a waterline in the Shoppes Creek area.
• $250,000 to extend a waterline to serve an area that’s ready for development, leading up to the Eastpark Industrial Site.

Boyd County Sanitation District No. 4

• $856,000 for improvements to the Camps Landing pump station.

Tourism Marketing Awards
On Jan 30th, Governor Beshear awarded $121,744 to the Ashland Tourism and Convention Commission and $142,916 to the Boyd County Tourism and Convention Bureau. The funding is part of the $75 million ARPA funding announced by the Governor in July to boost the state’s tourism industry and economy following the decline in visitors brought on by the pandemic. The funds are allocated by the Kentucky Department of Tourism to eligible tourism organizations throughout the commonwealth.

“This is what it means to be on Team Kentucky! We are so grateful for the funding provided through ARPA and very excited about the positive impact this will bring to tourism in our region,” said Brandy Clark, executive director of the Ashland Tourism and Convention Commission. “This funding has opened a whole new world of marketing opportunities that we haven’t had access to before, and we plan to make it count. We plan to bring new and enhanced events to our downtown, expand our digital advertising footprint and develop new marketing products that include professional photography and videography to show that Ashland is a thriving tourist destination. If a potential visitor hasn’t had Ashland, Kentucky, on their must-experience list, they will soon.” 

“This ARPA funding is a game-changer for not only Boyd County but for the region. These funds open doors for significantly larger-scale marketing campaigns to further promote Eastern Kentucky as the premier adventure destination it is,” said Andrew Steele, executive director of Boyd County Tourism and Convention Bureau. “Thank you to Gov. Beshear, our state lawmakers, Cabinet Secretary Mike Berry, Commissioner Mike Mangeot and his amazing staff at Kentucky Tourism, the Kentucky Travel Industry Association, and the many, many other supporters who made this funding a reality for Convention and Visitors Bureaus around Kentucky.”

Nonprofit Assistance Fund
Gov. Beshear announced 13 awards from his Nonprofit Assistance Fund, which helps organizations across Kentucky recover from the effects of the pandemic. The fund provides one-time direct relief payments to support long-term sustainability of eligible nonprofits. To learn more about the fund, see the full release from when it was announced last year. Jan 30th’s awards are:

• $100,000 to Safe Harbor of Northeast Kentucky
• $100,000 for Community Hospice
• $8,912.82 for the Salvation Army of Northeast Kentucky
• $86,810 for Ashland Community Kitchen
• $100,000 for the Ashland Nursing Home Corp.
• $100,000 for the Paramount Arts Center
• $100,000 for the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center
• $60,350 for Hope’s Place
• $50,544 for the Community Assistance Referral Service (CAReS)
• $59,158 for Neighbors Helping Neighbors
• $100,000 for The Ashland Area YMCA
• $16,648.28 for Federated Charities
• $100,000 for Ramey Estep Homes

Legislator Quotes
“The dedication of our local tourism and nonprofit organizations in Northeast Kentucky helps promote the natural beauty of our communities and the welfare of our citizens in the region,” said Sen. Robin Webb, whose district includes Boyd County. “The contributions of these recipients are commendable and will undoubtedly inspire others to join in the collective effort of making Northeast Kentucky a better place for all of the commonwealth.”

“I am truly honored to represent Boyd County and see our community receive these awards,” said Rep. Patrick Flannery, whose district includes part of Boyd County. “Each recipient should be immensely proud of the work they have done for not only Boyd County but for our great state as well. Through taking care of the elderly, advancing faith-based values, tending to the needy and showcasing Boyd County through museums and discovery, the recipients of these awards make me proud to be a part of Boyd County.”

Nonprofit Leader Quotes
“The Team Kentucky Nonprofit Assistance Fund grant received by CAReS will be used to continue our mission of partnering to build a self-reliant community,” CAReS Executive Director Lynn Childers. “Funds will be used to assist those struggling to meet basic human needs due to the increased cost of utilities and housing.”

“Hope’s Place Children’s Advocacy Center is thrilled to receive special funding facilitated by Gov. Beshear as we head into a new year! Hope’s Place saw a 20% increase in our requests for counseling and advocacy from children and families impacted by the pandemic, child abuse and trauma from 2020 to now,” Executive Director Lisa Phelps said. “This funding has allowed us to increase our counseling and advocacy capacity so we can help more children and families survive and thrive after traumatic child sexual and physical abuse. Our center served over 1,200 Eastern Kentucky children and families in the past 12-18 months, and funding like this allows us to continue to offer counseling, medical exams and advocacy free of charge to Kentucky children and families. We are grateful to Gov. Beshear, his Kentucky team, lawmakers and community partners that continue to find funding to improve the physical and mental health of Kentucky children and families!”

“Safe Harbor houses over 150 men, women and children on our property every day. We serve victims of domestic violence in the FIVCO ADD district,” said Executive Director Ann Perkins. “We are grateful for this money to provide our families with case management, housing, food, medical assistance, transportation, job readiness, children services, educational opportunities, legal assistance and advocacy, substance abuse counseling and referrals, mental health counseling and any service that they may need to leave an abusive relationship and become successfully independent.”

“The Ashland Community Kitchen is thankful to have received the Team Kentucky Nonprofit Assistance Fund grant which has helped us now and into the future sustain our organization during the most critical and challenging season,” said Executive Director Dr. Desmond Barrett. “With the pandemic-induced inflation, the cost of serving over 20,000 meals and 3,000 food boxes a year to those living at or below the poverty level has gone up, but through this public-private partnership, we have entered our 40th anniversary as an agency ready to help feed the needy in our community. We are extremely grateful to the governor, state and local officials who helped make this possible.

“The Salvation Army expresses our gratitude to the Team Kentucky Nonprofit Assistance Fund and Gov. Beshear,” said Major Jason Swain, corps officer, the Salvation Army, Northeast Kentucky Corps. “These funds will allow us to continue ‘Doing the Most Good’ in Northeast Kentucky, particularly in the areas of homeless outreach, feeding the hungry and helping families with emergency financial assistance for utilities and rent. We thank the Governor for consistently thinking of and meeting the needs of our neighbors.”

“At the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center, we are delighted to be able to utilize these funds to enhance our outreach to all the children of our region through workshops, school tours and afterschool programming,” Executive Director Kim Jenkins said. “Our visitor numbers are burgeoning as we look forward to the opening of the brand-new, state-of-the-art Clark Family Discovery Center; the grant could not have come at a better time. We still have much work to do to reach that opening but these funds will assist us in our mission to provide avenues of discovery for visitors of all ages and inspire others to become involved with this tremendous project.”

Neighbors Helping Neighbors Executive Director Jeremy Holbrook said, “The Neighborhood plans on using Team Kentucky funding to not only build our facility maintenance, but renovations for a new conference room that each partnering agency can use as well as other organizations in our community can reserve and utilize so they can better serve the citizens of our community!”