PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. — The potential Putnam County construction bond has taken another step forward.
On Monday, the Putnam County Board of Education approved the bond to appear on the November election ballot for citizens to vote on. This coming after the state School Building Authority signed off on the financial plan for the bond last week.
Putnam County Board President Rob Cunningham says some parts of the bond are already in motion.
“The architecture part is in the drafting stage,” Cunningham said Monday evening. “We’ve also started the financial aspects. We’ve signed on with a company and they’re working on securing the bond and the bond ratings.”
The construction bond will total nearly $75 million, with the primary project being the construction of a brand-new Hurricane Middle School. In addition, there will be upgrades to athletic facilities such as lights and bleachers at George Washington Middle School, Winfield High School, and Poca High School.
Cunningham says the next step is asking voters to put their stamp of approval on the bond.
“We’re asking the voters to approve the funding to build a new Hurricane Middle School, but also to improve a lot of the safety items around our athletic facilities throughout Putnam County,” Cunningham said Monday evening.
The new Hurricane Middle School would be around 85% of the construction bond’s $75 million, but Cunningham says the whole county will benefit from their potential upgrades.
“All parts of Putnam County are going to reap the rewards of the voters passing this bond,” Cunningham said.”
The current Hurricane Middle School, located on Midland Trail, has been open for around seven decades and Cunningham says there needs to be more current accommodations for the growing Hurricane area.
“The Hurricane area is continuing to grow,” Cunningham said. “Our student population is really growing, and we need the infrastructure to be able to accommodate not only our existing students, but with the economic development we’re having in and around Putnam County, with the anticipated growth within the county.”
Cunningham says that despite the large financial numbers, the tax burden will end up being less on Putnam County residents if the bond gets passed.
“The last thing we want to do is increase any kind of tax on our citizens,” Cunningham said. “If this bond passes, the tax burden will actually be less than what our taxpayers are paying now.”
Putnam County citizens will get the chance to vote on the bond on November 5.