Community Project Funding FY22

2022 Community Project Funding Requests

NOTE: Projects are organized in alphabetical order by county location of project and then alphabetical by name of proposed recipient and then alphabetically by title of project name.

Anderson County

  • Project Name: Lawrenceburg Sanitary Sewer Overflow Elimination and Sewer Extension Project
    • Recipient: City of Lawrenceburg
    • Address of Recipient: 100 North Main Street Lawrenceburg, Kentucky 40342 
    • Amount Requested: $750,000
    • Project Summary: The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would make vital repairs to Lawrenceburg’s sewer system to eliminate overflows and to extend sewer service to neighborhoods with small lots that have failing septic systems. The sanitary sewer overflows and failing septic systems are contaminating groundwater and surface water causing serious water quality problems and threaten drinking water supplies.  This is destructive to public and private property, bad for recreation and tourism and hard on sanitary sewer equipment.
    • Letters of Support:
    • Letter

Fayette County

  • Project Name: The Barrier Free Re-Entry and Recovery Initiative (BFREE)
    • Recipient: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
    • Address of Recipient: 200 East Main Street Lexington, Kentucky 40507
    • Amount Requested: $616,704
    • Project Summary: The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will address the myriad of barriers that those seeking re-entry, post detention, and those who are on a path of recovery from substance use and opioid use disorder often encounter and that, if not addressed, can often lead to cyclical recidivism.  
    • The Barrier Free Re-Entry and Recovery Initiative consists of four key components;
      • 1. Recovery Supportive Living Assistance: Addresses Housing Barriers for people with SUD/OUD where need has increased during COVID due to job loss (program provides funding for rent for those living in sober living residences). The proposal would add funding to support the initiative for FY22 which is currently housed in the city’s Department of Social Services. It has previously been funded by local tax dollars in the city’s FY21 budget. A small portion of the barrier reduction fund would also benefit this program.
      • 2. Community Paramedicine Support: This service is Lexington's Response Unit that connects with those who have been in contact with city services for naloxone administration. Staffed by a EMS Firefighter, Police Officer, and a Social Worker; this multidisciplinary team is growing as it their demand for services. We are proposing the purchase of two vehicles to aid the Community Paramedicine team. As well as access to the barrier reduction fund to aid with wrap around services needed for those they are working with.
      • 3. Re-Entry and Recovery Navigator: Additional support housed in Department of Social Services to help navigate those to treatment and recovery upon release from detention at our local detention center and those identified by Community Paramedicine. The support would come in the form of a grant-funded Re-Entry and Recovery Navigator (Social Worker or Community Health Worker) to assist with identifying treatment and recovery options, as well as access to the barrier reduction fund to aid with needed wrap around services for those they are working with. Of note: A Community Health Worker position was recently recommended by the Mayor’s Racial Equity Commission. This would help to fulfill that recommendation made by the Healthcare Disparities Sub-Committee of that Commission.
      • 4. Transportation Fund: One of the most glaring barriers that seems to cross all partner agencies is one of transportation. This fund will be utilized to offer taxi vouchers, bus passes, or ride-share credits to those who are involved with either Department of Social Services, substance use programming, detention center or community paramedicine. Managed by the Re-Entry and Recovery Navigator, this fund would be utilized for FY22 until depleted.
      • The BFREE Initiative is responsive to all of the best practices of the sequential intercept model set forth by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The cross-collaboration, the early and significant event intervention opportunities (either during detention or immediately following a recorded overdose), the assistance with navigation for those seeking treatment options, and the addressing barriers by partnering with those agencies who can breakdown those barriers, all play a key role in the strategic response necessary to have effective impact on this crisis.
    • Letters of Support: 
  • Project Name: Prep Academy at William Wells Brown

Franklin County

Madison County

  • Project Name: Eastern Kentucky University Center for STEM-H Excellence
    • Recipient: Eastern Kentucky University 
    • Address of Recipient: 109 Consumer Lane Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
    • Amount Requested: $504,900
    • Project Summary: The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will provide Employment and Training Administration resources to develop a certification program that will provide cybersecurity/IT training to low-income residents, particularly minorities and women, in the Frankfort/Franklin County region.
      • The Center for STEM-H Excellence will expand access to and enhance the quality of teaching, learning, and research efforts across all science, math, engineering, technology, and health science programs at Eastern Kentucky University with emphasis on student-centered classroom and teaching laboratory experiences, evidence-based co-curricular learning supports, and innovative research opportunities.
      • This early stage funding will be used to furnish and equip the STEM-H Center with the physical and virtual resources needed to support student success. Additionally, these funds allow expansion and modernization of several EKU teaching and research laboratories, ensuring EKU students gain hands-on experience with up-to-date equipment and instrumentation and preparing these students to transition seamlessly into Kentucky’s businesses and industries, as over 2/3 of EKU graduates remain employed in Kentucky 3 years after graduation.
      • The proposed initiatives, summarized here, are well-aligned with the needs of EKU’s students, 60% of whom are the first in their families to attend college and come from low-income homes. Additionally, these evidence-based practices can increase participation of women and other underrepresented populations in STEM-H fields.
      • The STEM-H Center will freely provide high-quality discipline- or skill-specific tutoring, helping all EKU students master foundational concepts in science, math, engineering, technology, and health science.
      • The STEM-H Course Embedded Consultants will partner with instructors to support students in 100- and 200-level math and science courses (serving ~1000 students/semester). Each peer consultant will work with ~30 students, providing both in-class assistance and individualized out-of-class tutoring and mentoring.
      • Equipment and Instrumentation Grants improve the quality and capacities of EKU’s STEM-H programs by funding substantial upgrades to the equipment in science, math, engineering, technology, and health science labs. These enhanced facilities will allow more students to use their fundamental knowledge in real-world applications, increasing motivation and persistence. Modern facilities help ensure graduates are well-prepared to enter Kentucky’s workforce. 
      • Ultimately, the STEM-H Center brings together a multidisciplinary team to engage learners in understanding and applying mathematical, scientific, technical, and engineering concepts and principles. These programs assist and challenge students at all skill levels as they become creators, inventors, scientists, and leaders for the twenty-first century.
    • Letters of Support: 
    • Letter
  • Project Name: Madison County Econcomy Road: Road to Innovation

Menifee County

Montgomery County

  • Project Name:  The Post Clinic Project
    • Recipient: City of Mount Sterling
    • Address of Recipient: 33 North Maysville Street Mount Sterling, Kentucky 40353
    • Amount Requested: $984,812
    • Project Summary: The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will be used to fund construction of a new Post Clinic facility to provide free health and dental services for uninsured and underinsured individuals whose income is no more than 250% of the federal poverty level.
      • The City of Mount Sterling is partnering with the Post Clinic to seek funding to construct a new facility to provide free primary health and dental care to low-income patients annually who are unemployed or under-employed, and to the unserved and under-served residents of Montgomery, Bath, and other surrounding counties.  The proposed new facility will be approximately 3,732 square feet and will be located adjacent to the existing Post Clinic building at 15 Sterling Avenue in Mount Sterling where a parking lot is currently (Latitude: 38.062077, Longitude: -83.947085).
      • The new building will be a single story with a brick veneer exterior, a standing seam metal roof system, insulated glass windows for energy efficiency, and exterior metal doors. The interior and entry of the building will be ADA compliant. The building will have administrative areas, a kitchen area, examination and procedure areas for the patients, and restroom facilities. Building design will be compliant with the Kentucky Building Code, National Energy Code, National Electrical Code, ASHRE, Kentucky State Plumbing Code, and ADA complaint.
      • The construction of a new Post Clinic building would help facilitate the clinic to operate on a full-time basis, within a better and more efficient facility designed as a clinic. With planned increases in both the medical and dental services staff, this will enable the clinic to operate on a full-time basis by offering expanded hours of operation and having the ability to meet the needs of an ever-growing population. It is the intent of the clinic to continue operating as a free “no fee” basis clinic. 
      • Services provided by the Post Clinic are essential for local and regional economic development. By providing free healthcare to the local and regional workforce, the Post Clinic directly supports small businesses that cannot offer health plans to employees as well as businesses that rely on migrant or part-time workers. The Post Clinic also supports the uninsured/under-insured workforce by offering “after hour” scheduling to employed individuals so they are not required to miss work for necessary treatments. The Post Clinic provides economic development benefits to local businesses in three ways: Health Maintenance, Transitional Care, and Pre-Employment Physicals and Drug Screenings.
      • The Post Clinic expects to increase the number of patients served from 400 to more than 4,000 patients annually within five years, from the communities throughout the region. The clinic is planning to hire a mid-level provider (nurse practitioner) to accommodate this projected growth in patients served. Additionally, it is anticipated than more than 70 percent of patients served will be employed individuals that are uninsured, under-insured or need transitional care while employer insurance plans are pending. As outcomes of the project, the lives of each patient seen at the clinic will be improved; the communities they live in will subsequently be improved as a result of the care received; and each patient’s local business employer will benefit from the project by having fewer lost working days from its staff and less expenses as a result of those lost work hours.
    • Letters of Support:
    • Letter