Bill to complete funding for Bowling Green Veterans Center signed into law

BOWLING GREEN/FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) - On Wednesday, Governor Andy Beshear signed House Bill 2 into law which provides funding for the Bowling Green Veterans Center.

“Supporting our veterans is a sacred duty, one that I have made a priority during my administration,” said Beshear. “Today is another example of how, when we work together, we can do what’s right for our people – especially our heroic veterans. I hope we, as Kentuckians, can commit to the hard work of being worthy of their sacrifices, which sustain us.”

Back in November, local, state and federal officials broke ground on the new state-of-the-art healthcare facility that will serve veterans from over 17 counties in the region.

RELATED: Gov. Beshear, Kentucky officials help break ground on new Veterans Center

The Veterans Center will create 120 new jobs and will be the state’s fifth long-term skilled nursing care facility.

The 80,000-square-foot facility will provide 60 beds and is being built on 25 acres donated by the Inter-Modal Transportation Authority at the Kentucky Transpark in Warren County.

“I am thrilled that, with the passage of HB 2, we finally have the full funding in place for this new Bowling Green veterans home,” said Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson of Bowling Green. “More than a decade in the making, we have broken ground and can now look forward to the completion of this wonderful, much-needed new facility to support our veterans and their families.”

House Bill 2 dedicates an additional $16,630,000 in the fiscal year 2022-2023 from the Budget Reserve Trust Fund to previously appropriated budget items to complete the construction of the $53 million Veterans Center in Bowling Green.

Local Representative Michael Meredith, R-Edmonson/Warren, was one of the many sponsors of this bill and played a huge role in securing this project and funding over the past decade.

“Every time an obstacle would pop up, I was calling the Department of Veterans Affairs to see if I could find a way to get around that obstacle to climb out over it to push out or whatever it was,” said Meredith.

The project will also create 120 jobs in Warren County with good benefits, but Meredith says it goes beyond that.

“They’re going to know they’re doing something good. They’re doing something to help those who have done so much for us,” he said.

This will be the state’s fifth Veterans Center.

The Bowling Green center is expected to be completed in 2024.

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