U.S. Senator Manchin announces $17.3 million for seven West Virginia Rural Development projects

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Hinton News) – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-WV, member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has announced $17,379,983 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development program for seven projects across West Virginia.

This funding will support renovating a building into a health clinic to expand Boone Memorial Hospital, upgrading water infrastructure in Bradshaw and Lavalette, rehabilitating a housing complex in Kermit, constructing a new health department facility in Moorefield and purchasing city vehicles for Smithers and Weston.

“Investing in our communities spurs economic development and creates good-paying, long-term jobs,” said Manchin. “I am pleased USDA is investing more than $17.3 million in these seven critical projects across our great state, including a historic $14.3 million expansion of Boone Memorial Hospital. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of this funding for decades to come and, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to ensure rural communities across the Mountain State have what they need to thrive.”

Individual awards listed below:

• $14,361,000 – Boone Memorial Hospital
  • This funding will be used to renovate a facility into a health clinic as an expansion of the current hospital. The project will provide quality outpatient healthcare and wellness services to a service area of approximately 32,200 rural residents.
• $1,000,000 – Town of Bradshaw
  • This funding will be used to upgrade the town’s water system to a traditional gravity system, which will consolidate the majority of customers onto centralized pumping stations for system efficiency and energy savings.
• $904,783 – Forrest Place Preservation Association
  • This funding will be used to assist in the transfer, assumption and rehabilitation of Forrest Place Apartments, a multi-family housing complex in Kermit.
• $616,000 – Lavalette Public Service District
  • This funding will be used to upgrade the German Ridge and Dickson areas of the Northern Distribution System to an eight-inch waterline to better serve the system’s customers with fire flow, reduced water loss, and reduced operation and maintenance costs associated with leak repairs.
• $474,000 (Loan) – Hardy County Rural Development Association
  • This funding will be used to construct a new facility to house the Hardy County Health Department in Moorefield.
• $17,200 – City of Smithers
  • This funding will be used to purchase a commercial tractor/mower vehicle for the city’s street department. The vehicle is needed to maintain the city’s green spaces and for moving and clearing rocks, mud, and debris from public areas.
• $7,000 – City of Weston
  • This funding will be used to purchase two law enforcement vehicles outfitted as cruisers with lights, consoles and brackets to hold radio equipment.