Montgomery mayor disappointed with KVC announcement

MONTGOMERY, W.Va. — Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram said he was extremely disappointed to when he got the news from Kansas based KVC Health Systems this week.

Several buildings on the former WVU Tech campus need repairs.

The company has scrapped its plan to create a college environment for young people coming out of foster care and into adulthood.”I was excited the program even exists. I was excited it was coming to Montgomery and I was excited we were going to be able to ‘foster’ those kids even after they got out of foster care,” he said. “We were trying to do the right hing with kids.”

The program came with much fanfare. Governor Jim Justice announced plans for the facility two years ago in his first State of the State Address. At the time, the announcement was a huge boost to the Upper Kanawha Valley because WVU Tech was in the process of transferring its campus from Montgomery to Beckley.

Since that time however, WVU Tech has relocated but the promise of finance backing did not materialize for KVC.

“The verbal commitments were abundant, but nobody really came through with funding,” Ingram explained. “It’s a sad day and a sad announcement. I do know KVC made every effort.”

Ingram said the money KVC had to operate initially was gobbled up with deferred maintenance to prepare the buildings on the campus for the program.

“There hadn’t been a whole lot of maintenance done to those buildings since WVU took over in 1995,” he said.

The buildings on campus remain the property of West Virginia University and under a a previous agreement, WVU will continue to handle day to day maintenance to keep the facilities viable for prospective tenants. The university is also obligated to continue to help locate tenants for the campus working with the city.

It’s another blow to Montgomery, but Ingram said other possibilities are being explored.

“I do know there are some other negotiations going on,” he said. “I think we will recover.”

 





More News

News
UMWA to fight planned Pennsylvania coal mine closure, 700 mining jobs at risk
Mine located south of Waynesburg, Pa., less than 40 miles from Morgantown.
March 28, 2024 - 2:23 pm
News
Bridge collapse having an impact on West Virginia coal shipments
About third of the coal mined in northern West Virginia is shipped out of the presently idled Port of Baltimore
March 28, 2024 - 1:18 pm
News
Charleston animal shelter seeks more donations, fosters following U-Haul crash
The corner roof of the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association building was stabilized Thursday morning.
March 28, 2024 - 12:41 pm
News
Controversial unemployment bill becomes law without governor's signature
The bill freezes employer contributions and freezes benefits for people who lose their jobs.
March 28, 2024 - 12:20 pm