Governor Andy Beshear signed into law House Bill 553 Tuesday morning — codifying the Kentucky General Assembly’s $13 million anchor for improvements at Lake Barkley and Jenny Wiley State Resort Parks.
Of the appropriations, $7.5 million has been earmarked for Lake Barkley, with the remaining $5.5 million headed to Jenny Wiley. The monies will address structural, exterior, mechanical and interior deficiencies.
Beshear called the funds “critical” in preserving two of the state’s “great” parks, both of which are in need of significant repair. He said the two locations “had to stay open” in order to boost the state’s tourism industry and economy, and — if needed — continue to provide critical emergency shelter for victims and first responders, much like both places did for the December 2021 quad-state tornado in west Kentucky, and the July 2022 flooding in east Kentucky.
This bill originally had a bigger ask, as Beshear’s biennium budget called for another $27 million in building systems improvements, $22 million in accommodation upgrades and $22 million in recreational amenity upgrades.
Beshear recently signed House Joint Resolution 76 into law, which designated $40 million toward statewide campground upgrades, $20 million toward utility upgrades and $6 million toward broadband and Wi-Fi upgrades.
State officials are expected to release more details in the coming days.
This is the first major appropriation for Lake Barkley State Resort Park since 2016, when then Governor Matt Bevin and Kentucky State Parks Commissioner Donnie Holland announced $3.7 million for safety and aesthetic improvements as part of the “Refreshing the Finest” campaign.
In the last three years, LBSRP has served as a COVID-19 triage and recovery unit, a refuge for west Kentucky tornado victims, endured a major fire in its west wing, and seen the transition from Park Manager David Miller to Ashley Stevenson.
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