Governor Beshear says 860-thousand dollars is being made available to rehabilitate and convert the former Olive Hill High School into a new Community Educational Arts Center. The facility will serve as both a public library for the city and a satellite campus for the Ashland Community & Technical College.
The governor says the money comes from community development block grant funds, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Federal Department of Energy. Olive Hill Mayor Kenny Fankel says there have been plans to renovate the 84-year old building for some time.
“It’s a project that’s been going on for 15 years. They needed more money to complete it. Now the A-R-C money has come through and Congressman Rogers made the announcement in Grayson about it. It can now be completed and everybody can move on.” Kenny Fankel
Rehabilitation of the three story structure will include the refurbishing of walls, ceilings and floors, the installation of electrical wiring and duct work for heating and air conditioning. Handicapped accessible restrooms and an elevator will also be installed. Ashland Community & Technical College will utilize the new center as a satellite campus to offer both credit and non-credit courses.
