Warren County Fiscal Court approved the first reading Friday of an ordinance to issue industrial revenue bonds for the construction of a health science complex to house Western Kentucky University’s School of Nursing.
Fiscal Court also voted to approve the first reading of a budget of about $33.7 million for fiscal year 2013, as well as an agreement with Connected Nation to look into the best way to make high-speed Internet available at competitive rates to all Warren County residents.
The bond ordinance would allow for the issue of up to $48 million in industrial revenue bonds for the construction of a building adjacent to The Medical Center complex to house WKU’s School of Nursing and physical therapy program.
The hospital will be solely responsible for repaying the debt, according to Ron Sowell, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Commonwealth Health Corp. and The Medical Center.
The medical science complex is expected to cost a little more than $18 million, he said.
The bond issue will also allow for the refinancing of some corporation debt.
“This project is very exciting for us and for Western Kentucky University,” Sowell told members of the Fiscal Court.
The facility will allow WKU’s nursing program to double in size, he said. “It will benefit not only The Medical Center, but it will generate nurses of the future for all the health care facility in southcentral Kentucky,” Sowell said.
A groundbreaking for the facility will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, he said. It is set to open in August 2013.
The complex wouldn’t have been possible without the formation of the Tax Increment Financing district, Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said.
It will be a benefit for not only Warren County but the region in meeting the demands on the area’s health care system, he said.
“This is really a godsend to this region of Kentucky,” Buchanon said.
Fiscal Court also approved an agreement with Connected Nation to provide broadband mapping, a policy impact assessment and help with a digital literacy program for Warren County in an effort to determine how best to make high-speed Internet available to all residents at competitive rates, according to the contract.
The contract is for $26,790 over a six-month period.
The county expects a final report from the company by the end of that contract period, Buchanon said.
Brian Mefford, Connected Nation CEO, said Connected Nation is eager to move forward with the project in Warren County.
“People want to be able to live anywhere in Warren County and have access to high-speed broadband Internet,” he said.
The availability of high-speed Internet is increasingly important to people, and not having access can be a disadvantage, especially for school-age children, Buchanon said.
Many people rate it in importance along with services such as water and sewer, he said.
“It think this broadband high-speed Internet is almost a right,” Buchanon said. “It has almost become a right.”
One goal for the county is to create more competition in the county among high-speed Internet providers, Buchanon said.
Competition can translate into wider coverage, along with better service and more competitive prices for Warren County residents, he said.
Expanding access to high-speed Internet has been a priority in the county for about two years, Buchanon said.
“This is the kind of thing that sets us apart from other communities throughout Kentucky and throughout the nation,” he said.
Fiscal Court also approved the first reading of an ordinance approving the fiscal year 2013 budget.
Buchanon said spending in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget is on par with the previous budget.
The approximately $33.7 million budget includes about $17.7 million in general fund spending. The budget is about $410,700 more than last year’s approved budget, with about $386,800 more in general fund spending.
