MORGANTOWN — After three-plus months of discussion spread across numerous public meetings, the Morgantown Utility Board, BOPARC and Morgantown City Council selected a route through White Park for a raw-water pipeline.
With that complex and emotional issue decided, it appeared as if the licensing agreement that would actually allow MUB to access the city’s park property would quickly follow.
However, the negotiations for the agreement — also between the city, MUB and BOPARC — have been going on for more than a month.
The water line is necessary to move water from the new emergency secondary water source being construction along Cobun Creek — the George B. Fleagel Dam and Reservoir — to the utility’s water treatment plant.
MUB originally intended to follow the route of an existing trail through the park, but quickly abandoned that plan due to overwhelming public pushback due to the impact it would have on the park and its mature trees.
MUB General Manager Tim Ball explained that contractor D&M Construction was about 80% finished constructing the pipeline when work was halted back in April. The plan was for the contractor to return in November to resume the work.
Now, MUB Spokesman Chris Dale said, that timeline is in question.
“Clearly, we have not achieved an agreement as soon as had been anticipated. That does threaten to even further delay our contractor’s return, and the schedule for resumption/completion of construction is becoming highly uncertain,” Dale explained.
Dale declined to address what issues are delaying the agreement, as did Morgantown City Manager Paul Brake.
“For me to comment on particular elements or what’s keeping people from reaching an agreement, I think would be premature,” Brake said, explaining that’s its been more than a week since the parties last met.
“It’s been a productive conversation. There’s not anything where we’ve reached an impasse and people are no longer speaking to one another,” Brake said. “It’s not anything close to that.”
The issue was discussed during an executive session at Wednesday’s BOPARC meeting, but no official action was taken.
The water line is an agenda item for MUB’s Oct. 14 meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. at the MUB offices. The agenda also includes an executive session.
Following Wednesday’s Monongalia County Commission meeting, Commission President Tom Bloom said he plans to request an update for the commission if no news comes out of the MUB meeting.
“The taxpayers in the county and the city have already paid for this upgrade … We need to move forward on it. The priority needs to be having that emergency water system in place. I think that’s being lost in this whole discussion,” Bloom said.
MUB services more than 100,000 customers across the Monongalia County area, either directly or through agreements with public service districts.
The new reservoir and pipeline is a roughly $50 million project. It’s being funded through water and sewer rate increases that took effect in July 2016.
