Perry County launches Paul E. Hall multipurpose complex for residents

Perry County officials are betting that the Paul E. Hall Multipurpose Complex can solve more than one local problem at once: give residents room for classes and meetings, strengthen public health and workforce programming, and provide a site that can serve in an emergency. At the Perry County Cooperative Extension Service Office on March 31, leaders marked the project as construction was already moving ahead, with FEMA hookups pre-wired, showers for first responders and emergency trailer connections built into the structure from the start.

That design points to a clear local need. Perry County has spent recent years dealing with flood damage, displacement and the practical question of where to gather people and resources when the next storm hits. Gov. Andy Beshear said on Feb. 26, 2025, that Perry County was among 11 counties included in an expedited major disaster declaration after severe weather. Hazard had just under 300 damaged properties, and Perry County Emergency Management reported 32 families displaced, with sheltering available at Perry County Park. A center built for both daily use and disaster response gives the county a place that can work before, during and after an emergency.

The complex is expected to expand the Extension office’s reach at 933 Perry Park Road in Hazard, where the office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension program there already includes 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Family & Consumer Sciences, and Community & Economic Development. Current programming such as Hiking for Health, Cook Together Eat Together, the Perry County Beekeepers Association and Journaling For Health shows that the office is already serving as a community education hub. A larger facility should give those programs more room and make it easier to add new ones.

Officials also said the building will include a state-of-the-art teaching demonstration kitchen. That could become one of the most visible public benefits, supporting nutrition education, healthy food preparation and food-security programming while also giving staff a practical space for workforce training, community meetings and economic development efforts. In a county where many residents prefer to handle services close to home, the payoff will depend on whether the complex can host regular, useful programming, not just ceremonial events.

The project also carries a civic message through its name. Paul E. Hall was identified as a longtime board member and former executive director of the Kentucky River Area Development District, the quasi-governmental agency that works with city and county governments to improve quality of life across the region. Tying his name to the complex links the building to the county’s broader history of planning and public service.

Still, the credibility test remains straightforward: how quickly residents will feel the difference and how much the project will ultimately deliver. Officials did not release cost figures, contractor awards or a construction timeline at the March 31 event, so the next public benchmark will be whether the building opens on schedule and begins filling calendars with the kinds of services Perry County says it needs.