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A rebuilding effort in an eastern Kentucky town devastated last year by tornadoes is getting some national recognition.
WYMT-TV reported that former President Bill Clinton’s Clinton Global Initiative will recognize the Rebuilidng West Liberty project this week in Chicago.
Much of the downtown in West Liberty, a community of about 3,200 residents, was leveled by late-winter twisters in 2012.
Morgan County Judge-Executive Tim Conley said the rebuilding effort focuses on strategies to make the town stronger physically in addition to making it more energy efficient. In addition, the three-year project includes a fiber optic system and a downtown Wi-Fi hub.
“We want to make sure the homes and buildings we’re building are very high energy efficient buildings that can help us not only conserve energy but show how Appalachian towns can be built to a phase that is business friendly and economically friendly,” Conley said.
Former Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller said leaders wanted to rebuild in a strategic way.
“We’re hoping that the visibility will bring a whole lot of new investment into West Liberty to help us realize our ambitious goal,” Miller said. “Hopefully not only would the town thrive and jobs be created, it can serve as a model for other disaster ravaged towns or for the rest of rural America.”
The initiative will be recognized during the Clinton Global Initiative meeting on June 13-14th.