Timeline for veterans nursing home still up in air

While a long-sought nursing home for veterans in Bowling Green passed a major hurdle earlier this year by getting needed state funding, it remains unknown when it will be built.

In August, Gov. Matt Bevin formally signed House Bill 13, which was passed during the last session of the General Assembly, for an allocation of $10.5 million in state bond funds for the nursing home.

The state funding is a requirement for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to begin construction on the roughly $30 million, 90-bed facility, which will serve 17 counties in southcentral Kentucky. The funding had been requested in previous sessions, but never made it through the budget process.

Even with the promised funding, the project faces another deadline ? a Phase 2 application must be completed before work starts. The deadline for that application to be filed is August, according to state Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Brownsville.

The Phase 2 application contains more concrete plans, such as design drawings. The funding also has to be part of the upcoming state budget.

"All that's in play ... as we go through the process," Meredith said. "We're still moving toward that (August) deadline."

There have been some concerns that the project could not be built with the $30 million budget, but some leeway in federal regulations may help get around those issues, Meredith said.

Then, assuming the Phase 2 application is filed successfully, it's up to Congress to allocate the funding for the nursing home.

"Our work for the most part is done," Meredith said.

The project had been ranked No. 109 on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' priority project list but has moved up to 99 this fiscal year, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green.

Kentucky Transpark officials previously donated land for the facility in the Transpark.

State Rep. Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, has been working on the project for years.

"The next move is up to Congress. They determine the pecking order," he said. "We've done everything we can do. Now we hope Congress moves rapidly on it."

There are currently four state veterans homes in Kentucky. According to a study commissioned by the state veterans affairs department, a 20-county area surrounding Warren County had the highest demand for veterans nursing home services, with about 40,000 veterans in southcentral Kentucky.

Meredith said the Bowling Green nursing home would be built with a community living concept, where veterans would have access to apartment-like dwellings with adjacent outdoor space.