Marshall County Benefits from the ARRA

The dream for a new Cameron Middle/High School became a reality last year as a result of the hard work and dedication of Governor Joe Manchin III, the School Building Authority, Superintendent Fred Renzella, his staff, Project BEST and many other local advocates. The School Build Authority approved this project to receive funding as a result of the sale of West Virginia’s 2009 allocation of $72M in Qualified School Construction Bond. These are a new type of tax credit Bonds provided for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2009.

McKinley and Associates, the Architect of record, recently completed the design of the building portion for the new facility. According to Rick Milhoan of P|C|S - Project & Construction Services, Inc., the Construction Manager for the project, bids were recently received for the $31.6M project. The bids came in slightly under budget and the site work, which began in the fall of 2009 is tracking on schedule.

To date, the project has already generated over $2.5M in revenue for the local area and created or maintained jobs for over 50 people. It is anticipated that the construction of the new facility will result in as many as 400 additional construction jobs over the next two years when construction is expected to be complete. It is also anticipated that as many as 800 secondary jobs will be created as a result of materials and equipment that will be manufactured for the new facility as well as subsequent revenue that will be generated in local communities. The new facility is being designed and constructed with an emphasis on energy and water reduction over the operational life of the facility as well as incorporating sustainable products (LEED) that are environmentally friendly.