MORGANTOWN — City voters will have a choice between two longtime Morgantown residents, each with experience in elected office, when it comes to filling the 2nd Ward seat on Morgantown City Council for the next two years.
Incumbent Bill Kawecki, currently in his second year as the city’s mayor, is seeking a fourth term on council.
Barbara Parsons recently ended an 18-year tenure on the Monongalia County Board of Education, the majority of which she spent as president of the West Virginia School Board Association.
Both live in South Park and both have called Morgantown home for about five decades.
Kawecki, who defeated Al Bonner 1,446 to 1,118 in 2017, said both the current council and city administration have been “extraordinary” over the last two years and he’s hopeful to continue that streak.
“We have momentum here. There are things that are occurring that are more hopeful to me now than I’ve experienced in the past,” Kawecki said. “We are making progress in so many areas and I’m so enthusiastic about what could be.”
Parsons, a business owner with experience in a variety of fields, helped facilitate the creation of the Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization. She said planning is something she would like to focus on as a member of council.
“I would like to focus a lot more on governing as opposed to managing and as opposed to meddling, and that would mean planning and setting priorities,” Parsons said, noting she would also like to spearhead enhanced communication and collaboration with the county, university and surrounding municipalities.
Both Parsons and Kawecki recently sat separately with The Dominion Post Editorial Board to discuss a variety of topics.
1 percent sales tax
City administration looks to take up a plan to implement a 1 percent sales tax in May. It is estimated the tax will generate between $5 million and $6 million annually to be used for BOPARC and police and fire pensions.
“I’m conflicted because I worry about the businesses that are in Morgantown and whether it will be considered more attractive not to be in the city … We already have layers of taxes for people who are in town,” Parsons said, adding, “To me, it’s a matter of clearly articulating what this is going to be for and then being able to prove that’s what you’re doing with it, and that’s the same with the user fee. I’m not sure we’ve kept up with the communication.”
Kawecki said the sales tax has been on the table since the city was granted permission to implement it through Home Rule in 2014.
Even so, Kawecki said he’s been reluctant to implement it until he was able to see how it’s worked in other cities, like Bridgeport and Clarksburg.
“When you see what they were able to accomplish with it, and that the repercussions to their businesses have been minimal, I think the benefits are there,” Kawecki said. “I think it’s proven, and in particular when you start talking about these unfunded liabilities we have to deal with. We have to take care of that … We’re going to debate this. We’ll hear pros and cons, but the more I hear about, the more I’m inclined to be in favor of it.”
Moving the city election
Kawecki said he would not be in support of changing the city’s charter to move the council election in line with the primary or general election, which would allow it to be held in conjunction with the county’s elections.
“I go back to the charter. I think if you bring city council into that larger group, then you’re really kind of losing the issues,” Kawecki said. “I think it’s important enough, and it really doesn’t cost us a terrible amount of money … I’d like to keep it just the way it is.”
According to Parsons, moving the city election in line with the county’s midterms would not only save the city money, but increase traditionally low turnout.
“You need more people to vote. There’s more energy, more interest and more opportunity for people to think about the issues,” she said. “I think it just makes sense that if you piggyback all of that with the county, you save time, you save money, you create some synergy and hopefully generate a better turnout and much more representative outcome.”
Parsons said she would also like to see council terms possibly extended to four years and staggered so all seven seats aren’t up in each election.
Annexation
“It’s a difficult subject,” Parson said when asked about the city’s plan to explore annexation in a number of areas around the city.
“I think the key to annexation is, number one, trust in the city council that’s going to do it, and two, understanding what the value added is,” Parsons said. “As someone potentially being annexed, if I don’t feel like it’s really going to help me, then I’m not going to embrace it. I want to know exactly how it’s going to help me because it’s going to cost me … I just think it’s a matter of how you approach these situations. How do you build the trust to convince people that it’s important and it’s of value to them?”
As for Kawecki, he said annexation is overdue.
“I consider it simply a matter of growing up, and it’s about time,” he said. “There’s no secret why a particular development happens where it does … to take advantage of what the city offers without helping to take on the burden of what the city pays for those activities,” Kawecki said. “Our roads are better. Our police force is better. Our fire department is better. And these are things we want to encourage and make even better for a larger community. But, like I said, they’re right over the line, avoiding participating in the community. Now it’s about time that we moved it forward and addressed that reality.”
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