State-Journal.com - Ky. Budget: $8 million more for us

The $17.5 billion two-year state budget plan approved by a 65 to 33 House floor vote Wednesday includes an additional $8 million in projects for Frankfort and Franklin County.

HB 290 now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate and includes a laundry list of local infrastructure and economic development projects.

New local projects include:

>$5.5 million for improvements at Frankfort High School. Superintendent Rich Crowe said the money will be used to renovate bathrooms, improve science labs, install new energy-efficient windows and update equipment in the food services lab. In general, the improvements will bring older parts of the building up to modern standards and provide more instructional space, he said.

>$1 million for Kentucky State Police to purchase land for a new training center. Rep. Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, challenged the project during a House committee meeting on Tuesday.

Moberly said a previous plan developed under Gov. Paul Patton would allow KSP to share resources and partner with the Department of Criminal Justice Training in Richmond. The program is housed at Eastern Kentucky University, where Moberly is executive vice president.

Any land purchased by KSP would likely be in Frankfort, but Moberly said the agency could have free land in Richmond.

“I question if the taxpayers are getting the best value here,” Moberly said.

Rep. Alecia Webb-Edgington, R-Ft. Wright, said the current facility, located at 919 Versailles Road, is “terrible” and should be replaced. She is a retired member of KSP.

>$750,000 for a wastewater treatment plant in Farmdale. Judge-executive Ted Collins said the current system is failing and represents a health hazard to residents between Interstate 64 and Anderson County. The project will add 1,000 homes to the city sewer system.

>$700,000 for the Holmes Street sewer and rehabilitation project.

>$100,000 to build a new reservoir for the Frankfort Plant Board. Water Engineer David Billings said the project is still in the design phase and will cost between $3.5 and $3.7 million. The reservoir is more than 120 years old and would have cost up to $4.2 million to repair, Billings said. The new reservoir will have a 50-year service life.

These new projects are on top of more than $90 million allocated for local improvements, including:

>$9.5 million in federal funds to design a Joint Forces Readiness Center at Boone National Guard Center. The facility will house more than 300 administrative personnel and will be very “utilitarian,” said the National Guard’s Lt. Col. Steven King. Design could be complete this year and construction might begin in 2011. The overall cost is $23 million and will include 100,000 square feet.

>$7.8 million to renovate and expand the Betty White Nursing Building at Kentucky State University. KSU president Mary Sias said the project will allow the nursing program to grow enrollment. Other KSU projects include a $46 million dorm, $3 million in federal funds to renovate the old Paul Sawyer Public Library and $2 million to purchase land.

>$4 million in federal funds to expand the Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort in the Boone Center. Brig. Gen. John Heltzel, director of the division of emergency management, said there’s not enough room in the center, which was built in 1974. It can accommodate about 30 officials during an emergency, and the 5,000 square foot expansion will increase capacity to 140.

>Pfeiffer Hatchery off Indian Gap Road will be expanded and renovated using a federal matching grant. The $2.5 million project will increase fish production 20 percent and put a new roof on the house used by the on-site manager.

HB 290 also includes changes to the basic health insurance plan for state employees.

The employee’s portion of co-insurance would drop from 25 to 20 percent, maximum out-of-pocket expenses would drop, and the price of doctor’s office visits, urgent care and emergency room visits would also drop slightly, according to the proposed language.

However, the employee’s premiums for parent plus coverage would increase from $8.28 to $8.87 per month; the price of couple’s coverage would increase from $282.18 to $302.22 and family coverage would increase from $288.44 to $309.92, according to last year’s enrollment package.

Single coverage would remain free.

A spokesperson for the Personnel Cabinet, which handles employee benefits, said they haven’t analyzed the proposed changes yet.

The two-year road plan, HB 292, also includes $28 million for local projects. It was approved by the House on Tuesday and has been received in the Senate.