BY AMY HIGGINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD - Most of the $25.5 million in state capital improvement funds that may come to Butler County will go to repair and rehabilitate a building at Miami University's main campus.
About $13 million is earmarked for improvements to Hughes Hall, which houses the chemistry department and science labs.
Claire Wagner, associate director of news and public information at Miami, said the overhaul includes electrical, heating, cooling and accessibility upgrades.
"Running a university is no less than running a city," Ms. Wagner said. "We have buildings, people and grounds to maintain. It's always good to get that support and keep us running efficiently."
The rest of the $24 million that Miami stands to receive will be used for general upgrades to other academic buildings, including those at the Hamilton and Middletown campuses.
The state's $1.7 billion capital bill is pending in the House Finance Committee and is expected to be voted out to the full House on Dec. 1.
The measure could be voted on in the Senate and be signed by Gov. George Voinovich before the end of the year.
"I think we'll be able to get it done," said state Rep. Greg Jolivette, a Republican whose district includes the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.
Mr. Jolivette said he fought for the state to budget $1.25 million to control flooding of the Pleasant Run Creek, which causes flooding and bank erosion problems from River Road to Nilles Road.
The state funds would pay for less than half of the $3 million project.
Fairfield also stands to get $100,000 for the planning of a Cultural Center at the Village Green development, Mr. Jolivette said. The Butler County Rehabilitation Center is also budgeted for $83,000. Another $100,000 could go to Metroparks, the Butler County parks system, for the restoration of the Chrisholm Historic Farmstead.
The house and property, which are on the National Historic Register, are the original home of Christian Augspurger, the leader of the first Amish-Mennonite settlement this far west.
Rhonda Smith, administrative assistant for Metroparks, said the money is not nearly enough to complete the restoration, but it is sufficient to redo the outside of the main house.
"It is a very good start," she said.
