State announces total of $22 million-plus to Kenton County as share of funds distributed around the state

The state announced a total of $22,481,400.45 in funding for law enforcement, tourism, cleaner water and nonprofit organizations in Kenton County.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman was in Northern Kentucky for the announcement Monday of the share of funds being distributed around the state at the Kenton County Government center in Covington.

“Investments in our communities through clean water, nonprofits, law enforcement and tourism provide Kentucky a solid foundation for building tomorrow’s economy,” Lt. Gov. Coleman said.

Here’s how the funds were distributed:

Law Enforcement

• $13,203.26 in funding to the Elsmere, Park Hills, and Taylor Mills police departments from the Law Enforcement Protection Program (LEPP).

“The Elsmere Police Department would like to thank the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security for the recent grant award through the LEPP Grant,” said Elsmere Police Chief Joseph Maier. “This grant funding provided 16,000 rounds of practice ammunition for our department for increased range training. This ammunition will also be used for weapon qualifications that are mandated by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council and the Department of Criminal Justice Training.”

Park Hills Mayor Kathy Zembrodt joined in expressing gratitude for the funding.

Tourism Funding

• $9,593,787 to MeetNKY. Over $4.5 million of the funding supports travel marketing and promotion, and $5 million attracts meetings and conventions.

“The entire Northern Kentucky tourism community thanks Governor Beshear and the administration as well as the Kentucky Legislature, including Leader Damon Thayer and Senate A&R Chair Chris McDaniel, for once-in-a-lifetime recovery funds to help one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, MeetNKY president and CEO.

“Thanks to this support, MeetNKY has begun aggressive campaigns focused on bringing new visitors to the region from all over the world and will especially be leveraging the recovery funds to bring new conventions, meetings and events to our region.”

• $305,000 to the Kentucky Faith Trail project to support marketing efforts for the multicounty collaborative tourism project focusing on faith-related attractions, including a passport program and wayfinding signage system.

These awards are part of the $75 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding supported by the Governor and allocated by the General Assembly in 2022 to boost the state’s tourism industry and economy following the decline in visitors brought on by the pandemic.

Cleaner Water Program

• $10,269,739 in funding from the Cleaner Water Program to Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1) of Northern Kentucky.

The funding will add 19,000 feet of new water lines and 14 grinder pumps, as well as extend service to 126 unserved households.

Funded by ARPA and administered by the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, $500 million has been appropriated since 2021 through a bipartisan agreement with the General Assembly to provide clean drinking water and wastewater grants to fund projects across Kentucky. The 2022 funding will be allocated based on each county’s proportion of the state’s population, except for Jefferson County’s share, which is discounted by 50% based on its high per capita allocation from the federal act. As projects progress, utilities will be reimbursed.

“SD1’s mission is to protect public health, property and the environment while supporting the economic vitality of our community,” said SD1 Executive Director Adam Chaney. “These projects advance that mission in a number of ways by expanding the public sewer system to serve more local residents and eliminating failing septic systems that can pose a significant risk to public health and the environment.”

Nonprofit Assistance Fund

• $2.2 million in funding to 28 Kenton County nonprofits from the governor’s Nonprofit Assistance Fund, which helps organizations across Kentucky recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The funding comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and the Governor supported the allocation of funds by the 2022 General Assembly. This fund will provide one-time direct relief payments to support the mission and long-term sustainability of each eligible nonprofit.

The awards include:

• Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home: $100,000
• Redwood School and Rehabilitation Center; $100,000
• Samaritan Car Care Clinic: $100,000
• Welcome House: $100,000
• Kenton Housing: $100,000
• Covington Ladies Home: $100,000
• Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky: $100,000
• Baptist Convalescent Center: $100,000
• Northern Kentucky Council of St. Vincent de Paul: $100,000
• The Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center: $100,000
• Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky: $100,000
• UMCFOOD: $100,000
• Life Learning Center: $100,000
• The Ion Center for Violence Prevention: $100,000
• Renaissance Covington: $100,000
• Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington: $100,000
• United Way of Greater Cincinnati: $100,000
• Learning Grove: $100,000
• Covington Partners: $100,000
• Ten/Ten Program: $98,174
• Behringer-Crawford Museum Board of Trustees: $93,564.29
• CASA of the Northern Bluegrass Region: $82,102.81
• Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society: $52,926
• My Nose Turns Red Theatre Company: $47,278
• Wesley United Methodist Church: $11,761.09
• Northern Kentucky Mental Health: $10,000
• Action Ministries: $2,311
• The Friends of NorthKey Community Care: $1,554

The nonprofits each expressed thanks to the Governor and General Assembly for the funds that advance their service to the community.

“Life Learning Center is using the funds to support permanent transformational change with an education and care continuum for the ‘at risk’ population to get them back in the workforce at a living wage,” said Alecia Webb-Edgington, president and CEO of Life Learning Center.

The Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky’s Kim Webb said they were able to continue to offer “immediate entrance, low-barrier shelter and services to help our guests have a safe place to sleep at night and also find gainful employment, income-based affordable housing and recover from physical, emotional, medical and substance abuse.”

The funds support a variety of services from CASA’s volunteer advocacy for the region’s most vulnerable children to Victorian at Riverside’s assisted-living for senior residents, to ION Center for Violence Prevention’s service to women and their families, to Behringer-Crawford Museum’s educational services to teachers and students, to Children’s Home of NKY’s full service mental health care, and to Samaritan Care Care Clinic’s vehicle repair shop for low-income families — and more.

“We’re so grateful for the financial support from the Team Kentucky Nonprofit Assistance Fund. We’re thrilled, too, for the broader message of support for children and families that this sends from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. An investment like this shows us that we all truly stand shoulder-to-shoulder in our efforts to bring the best outcomes for all Kentuckians,” said Learning Grove CEO Shannon Starkey-Taylor, echoing the sentiments of her fellow nonprofit service providers.

Karen Zengel of St. Vincent de Paul concurred. “This funding has been a blessing to those we serve. Our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet in our current inflationary environment. These funds have helped us close the gap for many Northern KY neighbors, struggling to pay their utilities, keeping them safe in their homes.”